The snow may have prevented a crowd, but it certainly did not stop No. 23 Marquette women’s basketball from showing up.
After a blowout at the hands of UConn and an upset against St. John’s, the Golden Eagles were looking to turn around their Big East road record.
After a slow first two quarters, Marquette (14-2, 3-2 Big East) was able to find some toughness, and use it to dominate the second half, securing the 75-54 win over Seton Hall (10-6, 2-3 Big East), their first win in the Walsh Gymnasium since 2019.
“We knew we’d have to be a little bit different [than we were at St. John’s and at UConn]. I got a big smile on my face. Just to get a road win in this league is hard,” Marquette head coach Megan Duffy said to Fox Sports broadcasters John Fanta and Kim Adams after the game. “I’m so impressed by our ability to be tough.”
Everyone was everywhere, in the right place at the right time and commanding the glass as the Golden Eagles out-rebounded the Pirates 39-25.
“We rebounded the ball well, our kids off the bench did their job, and overall just a great win,” Duffy said.
Karlen’s game
The senior leadership continues to be a pillar of Marquette as senior forward Liza Karlen dominated the game, scoring a career-high 30 points.
But Karlen especially impacted the game-defining third quarter — in which the Golden Eagles outscored the Pirates 27-13 and took a 16-point lead — as she scored 17 points on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting clip.
“That third quarter was incredible, giving us timely baskets,” Duffy said. “The offense was moving, we were sharing the ball, got her in some easy spots and she did what she did, knocked down shots and scored inside.”
While not only breaking her point record (previous 25 after Creighton), she also made her 1,000th career point.
That’s 1,000 career points for Liza!!
#muwbb pic.twitter.com/9I5mjgBtdl
— Marquette WBB (@MarquetteWBB) January 10, 2024
Karlen’s 30 points almost doubled her scoring season average and she also grabbed six boards.
First-start for Forbes
Something about Marquette’s starting lineup looked different Tuesday as first-year forward Skylar Forbes earned her first career start in place of graduate student forward Frannie Hottinger — who had started every game up until now.
Quiet on scoring, yet loud on defense, Forbes finished with a career-high 11 rebounds to go along with two points.
Sky with the layin
2pts 10 rebounds in 1st career start#muwbb pic.twitter.com/JvK7CVJDD6
— Marquette WBB (@MarquetteWBB) January 10, 2024
Statistical leaders
Following Karlen, senior guard Jordan King performed in all areas. She ended with 16 points after going 4-for-9 on 3-pointers, while also having eight rebounds and six assists.
“Liza Karlen and Jordan King were tremendous at the right moments,” Duffy said.
Sophomore guard Micah Gray led Seton Hall in scoring, finishing with 16 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the field and going 2-for-4 from deep. Closely behind was senior forward Azana Baines, who finished with 12, the only other Pirate to score double-digits.
Up next
Marquette will head home to face DePaul (9-8, 1-3 Big East) Saturday at the Al McGuire Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. CST.
This article was written by Raquel Ruiz. She can be reached at raquel.ruiz@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @RaquelRuizMU.