Marquette Women’s Basketball Bounces Back With A Win Over Providence

You know the old cliche about “basketball is a game of runs?” Well, I think we can safely say that Marquette women’s basketball executed the concept of using runs in order to win basketball games nearly perfectly in their 89-40 victory over Providence in the Big East opener for both squads.

The following is a list of runs that the Golden Eagles went on against the Friars on Friday afternoon:

4-0
19-0
13-0
6-0
4-0
6-0
11-0
7-0

The 19-0 run was the backbreaker, as the Golden Eagles bridged the first quarter into the second quarter and turned a 9-9 tie into a 28-9 lead. In the process, they held Providence without a point between the 4:35 mark of the 1st and the 4:18 mark of the 2nd. The astute reader will see that means that MU kept PC off the board for over a full 10 minute stretch of the game, which means that 19-0 run took up more than a quarter of the game. The 13-0 run came immediately after Kyra Spiwak broke the 19-0 run with a three, leading to the Golden Eagles closing the half on a 32-3 run and holding a 41-12 advantage at intermission.

And then they still had five runs to hammer onto Providence’s head in the second half.

I don’t think we need to get deep into the analytical breakdown on how this game went. Marquette shot 50% from the field, including 7-for-16 from behind the arc. Providence shot 23.5% from the field, including 4-for-24 behind the arc. That’s basketball.

Jordan King and Selena Lott both had great games, combining to shoot 13-for-22 from the field and scoring 18 points each. Both women were on the big ol’ struggle bus against Milwaukee in MU’s highly weird loss earlier in the week, so it’s good to see them play like we’ve gotten used to seeing them play. Lauren Van Kleunen also joined in the double-digit party, finishing with 17 points and six rebounds. Chloe Marotta just barely missed a double-double on nine points and nine rebounds. Camryn Taylor was limited to just 13 minutes in this one thanks to four fouls, and so she had “only” three points and six rebounds one game after going for 27 and 9 against the Panthers.

Oh, we didn’t say this part: Marquette is now in first place in the Big East. They’re the only team to win a game due to a variety of events throwing games off schedules left, right, and center. However, since 0-1 Providence is up 49-24 at the half on Butler as I type this recap, I suspect that MU might still be alone in first place at the end of the day.

How about some highlights, courtesy of GoMarquette.com and FloSports?

Up Next: Uh, we don’t know. Marquette was scheduled to play Prairie View A&M on Friday, December 11th, but it was announced during the Providence game that a COVID issue with the Panthers has struck that game off the schedule so hard that Marquette doesn’t even list it as “cancelled” on their schedule page. The next game that’s officially scheduled is on Sunday, December 13, on the road against Belmont. The Bruins are 0-1 after opening their year with a 70-50 loss to #11 Kentucky on November 29th. They’re scheduled to play three games between now and when Marquette comes to town.

However, that might not be the next game. Along with the announcement that the PVAM game was off, the announcing crew of Patrick Reed and Megan McKeown also discussed that Marquette head coach Megan Duffy was efforting to schedule another game for her team on the fly between now and the 13th. Will that come together? Who knows?! Keep your eyes and ears open, and if we know something, we’ll let you know.