Career highs in points and steals for the senior guard pushed the Golden Eagles past the Panthers.
It was a wild first quarter at the McGuire Center on Sunday as Marquette women’s basketball had the lead, but just barely at 25-21 over Milwaukee. The Panthers came into the contest against their crosstown foes on fire, knocking down five of their eight three-point attempts in the opening frame, but MU was able to best them overall. The Golden Eagles shot 61% in the first 10 minutes, powered by 13 from Lee Volker as she hit her first six shots of the game.
And then someone cranked the power WAY down.
Based on the first 10 minutes, this game was ticketed for a score somewhere in the 80s for sure, maybe even in the 90s based on MU opening up on a pace to hit 100. Heck, you could even say that based on the first 12 minutes, as it was 28-27 Milwaukee after a three from Justina Hernandez with 8:11 to go, the sixth triple of the game for the Panthers. That point explosion did not happen, as YOUR Marquette Golden Eagles won, 69-51. Yes, that means that Marquette closed the game on a 42-23 run…… over the final 28 minutes.
Milwaukee scored 28 points in 12 minutes….. and then 23 in 28. I’ve said it before during this season: It seems like it is just absolute misery to play 40 minutes of basketball against this defense that Cara Consuegra cooked up for her team, and in this case, it seems like whatever change she cooked up during a timeout following that Hernandez triple really did the trick.
For example: Milwaukee made just one three-pointer for the rest of the game, going 1-for-11 in the second half as the Golden Eagles elongated their lead to as many as 21 right before the final minute of the game.
For a second example: Milwaukee shot 53% in the first quarter…. and then under 28% for the entire second half.
For a third example: Anna Lutz had eight points for the Panthers in the first quarter….. and 10 for the game.
Just turned their water off, big time.
Hey, look: Marquette wasn’t so hot either after they were so great in the first quarter. But they were good enough. Lee Volker was a big reason why. She finished with 21 points, which is a career high after putting up 18 twice already this season, and she also had a career high seven steals, accounting for 35% of Milwaukee’s turnovers all by herself. In her free time, Volker also had six rebounds, three assists, and a block.
Skylar Forbes had a good game, just not as ridiculous as Volker. She had 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting, plus two steals and a team high three blocks. Forbes also tied with Halle Vice for the team high in rebounds with seven.
How about some highlights, courtesy of GoMarquette.com and FloSports?
Up Next: Marquette will take their seven game winning streak out on the road! On Wednesday, they’ll be out in Ohio for a contest against Bowling Green. Tipoff is set for 6pm Central, and ESPN+ will have the broadcast. The Falcons are 5-4 after beating Xavier 78-59 on Saturday.