Golden Eagles Produce Late Comeback Win Over Wisconsin

MILWAUKEE – Trailing by eight with two-and-a-half minutes to play in regulation, the Marquette women's basketball team (2-0) outscored Wisconsin 16-5 during a seven-plus minute stretch to defeat the Badgers 65-62 in overtime on Saturday afternoon at the Al McGuire Center. It was the fourth-straight win for the Golden Eagles over their rivals from Madison.

Naismith Trophy Watch List selection, Skylar Forbes, was held in check through the first half hour, scoring just one point on 0-of-3 shooting from the field. With her first bucket at the 8:21 mark in the fourth quarter, the senior poured in 18 points during the final 14 minutes of the game.

Forbes' play kick-started an offense that was held to just 35 points through three quarters. With Forbes taking over, MU scored 24 in the fourth and another six in overtime.

Wisconsin took control of the game in the opening quarter through a 10-0 run in the final five minutes of the period. Through the 3-ball, UW maintained a seven-point lead at the half. The visitors kept that advantage through three as the Golden Eagles never looked comfortable, shooting just 13-of-39 from the floor while committing 16 turnovers.

Marquette began to find its rhythm on offense in the fourth, continuing to chip away but a four-point swing with under three minutes to play put UW back up eight. A foul on a 3-pointer led to a pair of free throws and a turnover at the other end led to the Badgers going up 57-49 with 2:38 on the clock.

Forbes answered with a triple. A stop then led to Forbes assisting on a layup from Halle Vice to cut the deficit to 57-54.

The next Badger possession ended like the previous one, a block from 5-foot-9 point guard Jaidynn Mason. It resulted in Forbes bringing the Golden Eagles within one with a mid-range jumper at the other end.

Then it was Mason's defense again showing up. With the clock winding down, the senior picked the pocket of Ronnie Porter near mid-court. Mason was immediately fouled with 19.8 seconds on the clock, and it was deemed to be intentional. Forbes cashed in both free throws to give MU its first lead since the early minutes of the game.

Following a Badger foul, the door was left open with a split at the line. UW tied the game with five seconds left to send the contest to overtime.

Forbes scored all six points for the Golden Eagles in overtime. A layup after a minute had passed were the only points until the final minute when the Badgers tied the game at 61-61 with less than 40 seconds to play. Taking the shot clock down to four, Mason flipped a pass back to Forbes at the top of the key where the junior drained a 3-pointer to put MU up three with 9.8 ticks remaining.

A pair of fouls in the final seconds and a heave that was off the mark saw Marquette claim the victory in the renewed rivalry.

UP NEXT: Marquette hits the road on Tuesday, traveling to Minnesota. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT and will stream on BIG+.

NOTABLES

Marquette has won four straight games over Wisconsin dating back to Dec. 6, 2015.
MU tied up the all-time series at 13-13 and moved 7-5 all-time at home against Wisconsin.