Second Half Rally Isn't Enough For Marquette Women's Basketball At Wake Forest

Last year in the McGuire Center, Marquette went on an 18-2 run after halftime against Wake Forest.  That gave the Golden Eagles all the advantage they would need on their way to a 90-71 win over the Demon Deacons.

This year, in Winston-Salem, Wake Forest took a 6 point lead into halftime on the strength of 17 points from Dearica Hamby.  The Deacs came out of the locker room roaring, scoring the first 10 points of the half.  The lead would eventually boost to 19 on a Taylor Gordon three pointer, but there was still nearly 14 minutes left.  A 16-2 Marquette run was jumpstarted by seven straight points from Arlesia Morse, and suddenly, with a little less than 10 minutes left, we had a five point game.

Another three pointer from Morse with 7:22 remaining cut the Wake Forest advantage to just four points, but Marquette wasn't able to get any closer.  A 10-2 Wake burst turned the tide back in their favor, and they would never lead by less than 10 points again.

Turnovers on both sides boosted the number of possessions in this game, but it was Wake Forest that made the difference up at the rim.  Marquette might have made more three pointers in the contest (7-14 all told), but Wake finished with the better shooting night overall.  Hamby led the way, putting together a 10-16 night on her way to a game high 26 points.  Jill Brunori helped Hamby with a 8-11 effort, finishing with 20 points.

Abbie Willenborg Player Of The Game: You probably already guessed this one, but it's Arlesia Morse.  The senior guard matched Hamby with 26 points and was a perfect 4-4 behind the arc, plus she made the Deacons pay for their transgressions with a 12-14 night at the free throw line.  She also added nine rebounds along the way.  It's almost the exact type of game that Marquette will need from Morse night in and night out in order to be competitive.  I say almost, because she had six turnovers, too.

Clare Barnard Undersung Eagle Of The Game: I choose to leave this one blank this time out.  Marquette's starters all played heavy minutes, and it's hard to be undersung from the starting lineup.  Everyone off the bench either didn't make much of an impact on the game, or, at least a positive one.

Up Next: #7 Duke (2-0) looms on Sunday afternoon.  Tip off is scheduled for 1pm at Cameron Indoor Stadium.