No. 19 Marquette women’s basketball beat No. 20 Creighton 76-70 Wednesday night at the Al McGuire Center in its first Big East game of the season. With the win, the Golden Eagles defend their undefeated streak and move to 10-0.
Here’s what you need to know about the game:
- Senior forward Liza Karlen scored 25 points, a season-high, and shot 11-for-22 from the field.
- Marquette ended with a 57.1% 3-point percentage while Creighton stood at 27.6%.
- The Golden Eagles had 21 assists on 29 made-baskets while the Bluejays had 10 assists on 26 baskets.
- Marquette outscored Creighton 22-15 in the final quarter.
Senior solidify the win
In last year’s game, the Golden Eagles trailed the Bluejays 44-30 heading into the final quarter. Wednesday, they were down 55-54.
But, as has been Marquette’s recipe for success all season, balanced scoring with help from the upperclassmen pushed the Golden Eagles past for the win.
At the fourth quarter media timeout, the game was tied 64-64 and eight of Marquette’s 10 points were scored by a combination of Karlen (4), and senior guards Jordan King (2) and Rose Nkumu (2).
A few minutes later, Karlen and King hit consecutive jumpers to give the Golden Eagles a five-point lead — their largest of the game — with 1:32 remaining in the game and force the Bluejays to call timeout.
Largest lead of the game!
Timeout Creighton.#muwbb pic.twitter.com/DUR54MUUNp
— Marquette WBB (@MarquetteWBB) December 14, 2023
Then, Karlen added to her point total with one final jumper with under a minute to go. It was her 25th of the game and eighth of the quarter. After the St.Paul Minnesota score her final basket, the Golden Eagles had an eight-point lead and the Bluejays were forced to foul.
This story was written by Sophia Woods. She can be reached at Sophia.Woods@marquette.edu or on Twitter @SophiaWoodsMU.