It may not have been pretty, but Marquette women’s basketball (10-4, 2-1 Big East) found a way to pull out a gritty 57-54 win over Butler (10-7, 0-4 Big East), despite the visiting Bulldogs out-rebounding the Golden Eagles 38-32, and a plus-seven advantage in second chance points.
In a back-and-forth contest throughout, no lead was safe until the very end, with eight combined lead changes. After a stone-cold-shooting first quarter, which ended with Marquette leading 10-8, both sides came out with a sense of urgency, trading baskets and leads like two hot rods down a racetrack.
Thrilling fourth quarter finish
With the Golden Eagles trailing 39-35 at the end of the third quarter, and both teams responding to each other’s shots, something had to give for Marquette.
The Bulldogs marched to their biggest lead, 47-42, in the fourth quarter off senior guard Kilyn McGuff’s long jump shot — who had a career afternoon with 18 points and dominated the glass with 17 rebounds.
Marquette senior guard Lee Volker answered right back from the top of the key to make it 47-45 at the media timeout with five minutes and 48 seconds remaining. Trading leads for the next minute and change, sophomore guard Halle Vice evened it up, and then gave Marquette a 51-49 lead with just over four minutes left.
Then, Butler senior forward Sydney Jaynes tied the game at 51 off a deep two-pointer, and McGuff banked in one from the wing to give the Bulldogs a 53-51 lead with a minute and fifty seconds remaining.
The Golden Eagles then looked for sophomore forward Skylar Forbes in the post and she was fouled by McGuff, which sent her to the line. Cool as a cucumber, she converted both free throws to tie it again at 53 with 1:20 left.
On the other end, Butler first-year guard Lily Carmody went to the line, splitting a pair of free throws.
In transition, with Marquette down by one and heading towards the paint, Carmody was called for a blocking foul with 36 seconds left. From Forbes’ pass off the inbound, Volker found a layup to give Marquette the one-point lead with 30 seconds to go.
Butler got the ball back but was unable to capitalize.
Forbes was fouled and made a free throw on the other end. The Bulldogs had one last shot but were unable to convert on their last gasp with 1.5 seconds left, and the Golden Eagles won their second Big East game of the young season.
Winning the close games
Marquette hasn’t played in a lot of neck-and-neck contests this season, but its defense stood tall, keeping the Bulldogs under 60 points scored for just the fifth time in Butler’s 17 games played. Butler shot 34.5% from the field, and Marquette held a plus-eight advantage in blocked shots.
Forbes led the day for Marquette with 21 of the Golden Eagles’ 57 points, all of which came in the final three quarters. Halle Vice also finished in double figures with 10 points and six rebounds.
Prior to Saturday, the Golden Eagles were 1-2 in games decided by 12 points or fewer. Head coach Cara Consuegra emphasized the importance of being able to finish in tight contests as paramount to the team’s development.
“Our team is still really inexperienced, and we have to learn how to win games like this, when things don’t go your way; when you’re not making shots, whenever you don’t start or finish well, whatever that may be,” Consuegra said. “I think that his is huge for our growth, that we found a way to win, even when we didn’t necessarily play our best.”
Up Next
Marquette continues conference play on the road against Creighton (12-3, 4-0 Big East) Jan. 8. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. CST.
This article was written by Mikey Severson. He can be reached at michael.severson@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @MikeySeversonMU