Backed by a stifling third quarter, the Marquette Golden Eagles (18-8, 10-5 Big East) beat the Providence Friars (11-18, 4-12 Big East) for a 16th straight time, 69-51, at the Al McGuire Center Wednesday evening.
After a back-and-forth first half, the Golden Eagles took a one-point lead into the break and exploded out of the half on a 10-0 run, backed by five points each from senior guard Lee Volker and junior guard Jaidynn Mason.
“There wasn’t a big adjustment at halftime,” head coach Cara Consuegra said. “A big key to this game was our ball pressure, and in the first half, it was nonexistent. Second half, we come out, Jaidynn Mason gets on the ball, starts pressuring the ball, then Lee starts doing it and everybody follows suit.”
Marquette’s defense allowed only five points in the third frame and generated seven turnovers. Mason said the team’s ability to hunker down defensively in the third quarter helped them pull away.
“Coach always gets on us about defending,” Mason said. “When we defend, we win, and that was our mindset today.”
Mason finished with 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field and added four assists and three steals.
The Golden Eagles were able to stymie graduate guard Grace Efosa and senior forward Olivia Olsen in the third quarter after the two scored 21 of the team’s 31 first half points. Only two points were scored between the duo in the third quarter, courtesy of an Olsen jumper. Olsen finished the game with a double-double, leading all scorers with 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field and 10 rebounds.
Finding Flow
Marquette’s offense was clicking on all three levels in the victory. The Golden Eagles assisted on 16 of their 24 makes, had 22 bench points and was efficient from the floor as well. Marquette shot 13-for-15 from the charity stripe and connected on 8-of-19 3-point attempts.
Volker led Marquette with 14 points on 6-for-15 shooting, including splashing two triples.
“The team was super aggressive getting downhill and that really made the defense rotate to help me get open,” Volker said.
Consuegra said Marquette’s transition play helped spread out scoring in the second half.
“In the first half, it really took us a little bit [to get going],” Consuegra said. “Providence was sagging off and packing the paint, which has been a common game plan for us.”
“In the second half, our transition got us going. That helped us get into a better rhythm in our half court.”
Consuegra said she was impressed with the way the bench contributed to the win.
“I thought Bridget [Upberg] had really great minutes and was a big spark off the bench,” Consuegra said. “Jada Bediako came in and did a great job on [Olsen], she was getting some deep position on us.”
Of the 22 bench points, the junior guard Bridget Upberg contributed eight on 3-of-4 shooting from the field. Sophomore forward Jada Bediako added four points and three rebounds.
Up Next
Marquette travels to the nation’s capital to visit the Georgetown Hoyas on Saturday, February 22nd.
Consuegra’s hometown of Mount Airy, Maryland, is just an hour and three-minute drive from Capital One Arena.
Consuegra said she will have a homecoming crowd on Saturday.
“I haven’t been back to the Maryland/DC area in terms of coaching in a while,” Consuegra said. “I’m going to have a lot of family there and some high school friends coming out, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CST.
This story was written by Trevor Hilson. He can be reached at trevor.hilson@marquette.edu or @hilsontrevor on Twitter/X.