The Golden Eagles led by 10 late in the third, and then they didn’t, but they found a way to get the W.
When Marquette women’s basketball closed the first quarter on a 7-0 run and then opened up the second quarter on an 11-2 run, I made the crucial mistake of thinking that the Golden Eagles really had something cooking against St. John’s.
Halle Vice’s layup with 6:29 left before halftime put Marquette out in front by 13, 27-14. Not too bad, y’all. Even better when MU went up 31-16 with 3:29 to go. It ended up being 32-22 at the half, and you’d like to not hand back five points, but it could have been a bigger lead as Kennedi Perkins missed three free throws after STJ fouled her on a prayer to beat the shot clock very late in the half. Still! Hard to argue with a 10 point lead.
The sense that Marquette was probably in trouble started to mount as neither team scored for the first four minutes of the second half. It took until the 3:29 mark of the third quarter to get MU’s first field goal of the frame, but thanks to MU’s defense, Skylar Forbes raining in a triple in transition made it a 10 point game again.
And then it was a two point game, 41-39, heading to the final period.
One could view the opening two minutes of the fourth quarter as fairly pivotal. Phoenix Gedeon tallied after a Forbes turnover, but Lee Volker immediately answered with a corner three to put MU out in front again. However, and here’s the important part: Lashae Dwyer answered with a rare three-pointer from her on the other end. She hit one in the first half and did the “in my veins” celebration while bending over a little and pointing at the floor. This time, she did it again, except this time the arm was extended straight out at Volker, BOOM: Immediate technical foul for taunting.
Forbes drained the two free throws. I want to make this very clear: Marquette got two free points — one of them of the “eeeeeeeeeeeeeokay it finally tipped in” variety — because Dwyer didn’t have the emotional control to not point at Volker.
For a minute, it seemed like MU was going to hold STJ off at arm’s length, keeping the margin at four points. Olivia Porter cashed a three from the corner in front of the Marquette bench for a six point lead with 1:42 to go, and man, that kind of felt like it might have been enough.
MU fouled on the other end, Kylie Lavelle split her freebies, MU brings it up, nothing happening, head coach Cara Consuegra calls timeout with eight on the clock to draw up a shot, cool…. Marquette turns it over on the inbound…… Jailah Donald drains a three. Two point game, 45 seconds left.
MU’s ensuing possession was a lot of clock burning because it was just a two point game. You can argue the idea of going quick to give yourself 5-10 seconds in case you miss and St. John’s makes, but trusting your team to get a bucket or get a stop is a solid plan, too. MU’s play gets a little scrambly, but Forbes found Vice in the corner for a three…. missed. Johnnies get the rebound and use their final timeout to advance the ball with a chance to tie or win.
They chose tie, and Porter slowed up Ber’Nyah Mayo’s drive just long enough for Forbes to rotate into position to force her a little more outside than she wanted. Scoop layup attempt rims off, horn sounds, ball game, Marquette’s 7-4 in the Big East. Closer than it needed to be, but they made just enough plays to hold on to win.
Hey, remember those two free throws for the technical foul? MU won by two. Just sayin.
Skylar Forbes is your leading scorer here, going for a game high 15 points along with six rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Lee Volker was the only other double digit scorer, adding 14 points. If Halle Vice’s three in the final minute had gone down, she would have had a double-double, but she has to settle for eight points and a game high 10 rebounds.
How about some highlights, courtesy of GoMarquette.com and FloSports?
Up Next: Marquette returns to action this weekend when they play the first of back-to-back road games. This one will be a visit to Butler with tipoff on Sunday set for 1pm Central time. The Bulldogs are 12-13 on the year and 2-10 in Big East play after a 63-59 loss at Villanova on Wednesday night. That’s their sixth straight loss.