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If you say "five ties and five lead changes," it sounds like an exciting first half, right? It's hard to take that view of it, though, when Marquette ends the half trailing by 10, which was the case yesterday afternoon against Central Michigan. The good news of the last 5 and a half minutes for MU was that they shot 50%. The downside is that means they went one for two, not including a Brooklyn Pumroy three ball at the halftime horn that missed. That, and six turnovers, is how CMU built their halftime lead.
But Marquette ripped off a 15-5 run to start the second half, and all of a sudden, things were tied back up with 15:25 to play. Things stayed tight the rest of the way, including seven more ties all the way down to the last one of the game with 49 seconds left on a three pointer from CMU's Jalisa Olive. Arlesia Morse came back and canned her own three pointer to give MU a three point lead, and split a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left to force CMU to hurry a layup and foul to have a chance. Sarina Simmons knocked down two from the charity stripe with six seconds left to push the lead back to four and ice the Marquette win.
Abbie Willenborg Player Of The Game: We're big fans of the phrase "career high" around these parts. Katherine Plouffe had a career high 24 points, including 14 in the second half in this contest, so she's your winner. Plouffe also added seven rebounds, four assists, and a steal.
Clare Barnard Undersung Eagle Of The Game: There hasn't been much to talk about regarding Sarina Simmons this season, and as the lone senior on the squad, that's a little surprising. With much of the attention focused on Plouffe and Morse this season, Simmons had an excellent game yesterday: a season high14 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block.
Up Next: Marquette heads home to open Big East play against Syracuse on Saturday night at 7pm. It's Dollar Night, with general admission tickets, hot dogs, and sodas all available for purchase with a picture of George Washington.