WBB Returns From Holiday Break To Host St. John's

MILWAUKEE - With its nonconference slate complete, the Marquette women's basketball team turns its focus to 17 BIG EAST games during the next nine weeks. The Golden Eagles will begin the stretch by hosting St. John's on Monday night at the Al McGuire Center.

Monday's game will stream on ESPN+ with Bob Brainred and Chloe Marotta on the call. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT.

THE STARTING FIVE

Marquette will host its seventh game of the season at the Al McGuire Center on Monday. The Golden Eagles are 6-0 this season at home, and during MU's three games in Milwaukee this month, the Golden Eagles have outscored their opponents by 38.3 points per game.
In what was viewed as a weakness in Cara Consuegra's first year, the 3-ball has become a strength for the Golden Eagles in Year 2. MU sits sixth in the country at 39.7%. Five of the team's eight players who have attempted 10 or more this season are shooting above a 40% clip.
Matching her career-high for the second time this season last time out with 26 points, Skylar Forbes has posted three 20-point games in her last six appearances, twice reaching that career mark. She ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in scoring at 16.8 points per game.
With 27 straight games with the same starting lineup, Consuegra was forced to make her first change in over 11 months as Jaidynn Mason came down ill prior to Marquette's game against Truman State.
Marquette's strength this season comes in its experience and continuity as the program is the only one in Division I women's college basketball to return all of its players from the 2024-25 season.

BY THE NUMBERS
5 - Through 12 games, Marquette has five games with double-digit made 3-pointers. In four of the previous five years, MU had just one or fewer such games. The 2023-24 season saw six.
9.0 - An emphasis during the offseason for Marquette was to increase its efficiency from outside. MU has seen an increase of 9% on its shooting 3, jumping to 39.7% and ranking No. 6 in the NCAA.
21.3 - Since scoring a then-season-high 24 points on Nov. 30, Skylar Forbes has been on a tear averaging 21.3 points per game during her last six outings.

FLASHING BACK - GAME 12 VS TRUMAN STATE

Marquette moved to 6-0 at the Al McGuire Center this season.
MU grabbed a season-high 50 rebounds.
MU shot 14-of-14 from the free-throw line. It was the first time the Golden Eagles have shot 100% from the line with more than 10 attempts since Feb. 25, 2012 versus UConn.
Marquette had two players record a double-double in the same game for the second time this season.
Skylar Forbes posted her first double-double since Dec. 21, 2024.
Forbes matched both her career high in points (26) and rebounds (11).
Halle Vice posted her second double-double in the last three games, finishing with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
The 13 rebounds were one shy of her career high.
Olivia Porter dished out a career-high eight assists. The senior also matched her career high in blocks with three.
Jordan Meulemens matched her career-high in assists with five.
Bridget Utberg scored her most points at Marquette with 11 while going 3-of-4 from 3.

CALMING THE STORM

Marquette and St. John's will me for the 37th time on Monday evening.
MU holds the lead in the series at 23-13.
The Golden Eagles have won 11 of the last 14 in the series, though the two teams have split the last six games.

PROTECTING THE AL
Since Cara Consuegra took over last season, the Golden Eagles have been dominant at the Al McGuire Center. In 21 games on its home court, Marquette has lost just twice.

This season, MU is 6-0 at home with five of those wins coming by double digits. Four of those wins have been by 25 or more.

3-POINT EFFICIENCY INCREASE
Year 1 under Cara Consuegra saw the Golden Eagles struggle from outside, shooting just 30.7% which ranked 194th in the nation. During the offseason, changing that was a point of emphasis. Through nine games, Marquette is shooting 39.7%, a 9% increase, which ranks sixth in the NCAA.

Five Golden Eagles are shooting north of 40%. Olivia Porter is at 52.4% (11-of-21), Bridget Utber is at 50.0% (10-of-20), Jaidynn Mason is at 47.1% (8-of-17), Skylar Forbes is at 41.2% (28-of-68) and Lee Volker is at 40.7%(22-of-54).
The increased efficiency from beyond the arc has also resulted in more 3-pointers per game as MU is averaging 8.8 per game, an increase of 3.6 from last season.

MAKE 'EM COUNT
The charity stripe this season has been just that--charity for Marquette--as the team is shooting 79.5%, the 13th-highest mark in the NCAA this year. MU has shot 80% or better six times this season.

On Dec. 20, the Golden Eagles went 14-of-14 from the line. It was the first time MU has shot 100% from the line with more than 10 attempts since Feb. 25, 2012.
Fifty-one of the team's 156 attempts have come from Lee Volker (25-of-27) and Jaidynn Mason (21-of-24).

DIVERSIFYING THE OPTIONS
While Skylar Forbes is the Golden Eagles' top scorer at 16.8 points per game, three others have shown that they too can carry the scoring load. Two of MU's other starters--Halle Vice, Lee Volker--are also averaging double figures.

Along with Jaidynn Mason who is averaging 9.5 points per game, each of the four have led Marquette in scoring this season and all four have each posted at least one 20-point game.

SHARING THE ROCK
With an uptick in scoring in recent weeks, part of that can be attributed to Marquette's ball movement. MU recorded its fourth, fifth and sixth games this year with 20 or more assists this month. The Golden Eagles sit 14th in the NCAA in assists per game at 19.5.

Of the teams ranked in the Top 20 in assists per game, Marquette is one of four that does not have a player averaging at least 4.0 per game, joining Iowa, LSU and Villanova. MU has five players averaging between 2.1-3.9 assists per game.

ONE OF ONE
Not just a shot blocker, not just a 3-point shooter, Skylar Forbes is proving early this season that she is both. Forbes is currently shooting 41.2% from deep while also posting 1.8 blocks per game.

Forbes is the only player in the country currently averaging 1.8 blocks per game and shooting over 40% from 3 (min. 20 attempts).

DOING A BIT OF EVERYTHING
When you think of a glue-type player, Lee Volker has been just that for Marquette. The fifth-year player has been doing a little bit of everything for the Golden Eagles. Volker is tied for first on the team in steals, second in rebounding and assists and third in scoring.

Heady, Volker owns the third-best assist-turnover ratio in the BIG EAST, and 56th nationally, at 2.28
Volker is also one of the top free-throw shooters in the country at 92.6%.