It was a bittersweet Thursday at the Al McGuire Center.
The Marquette Golden Eagles (20-8, 12-5 Big East) celebrated their two senior team members, guard Lee Volker and forward Abbey Cracknell, in their 62-37 rout of the Xavier Musketeers (6-22, 1-16 Big East).
Marquette has won 18 straight games against the Musketeers, extending its longest win streak against a Big East opponent. The Musketeers’ 37 points is the lowest opponent point total Marquette has allowed a Big East opponent in program history.
In a sluggish shooting performance for both teams, with neither team shooting above 35 percent from the floor, Marquette got to the free-throw line, won on the glass and generated turnovers.
Volker had 15 points in her final start on the home floor, shooting 5-of-10 from the field, including connecting on her two 3-point attempts.
Capitalizing on mistakes
Marquette exploded out of the gate with a 19-4 lead at the end of the first quarter largely due to forcing 10 Xavier turnovers in the first 10 minutes.
The Golden Eagles scored 10 points off the Musketeers’ mistakes and carried a 14-0 run into the second quarter, extending it to a 21-0 stretch to 7:19 in the second frame.
Marquette generated 26 Xavier turnovers for the game, the second highest mark in a single game this season and scored 27 points on the miscues. As a unit, the Golden Eagles’ defense blocked seven shots and forced 14 steals.
Sophomore forward Skylar Forbes had four blocks and three steals. Junior guard Olivia Porter and sophomore guard Jaidynn Mason also had three steals.
Dominance on the glass
Marquette leads the Big East in rebounding offense and is now 16-3 when it out-rebounds its opponent. The Golden Eagles created 17 second-chance opportunities and won the rebound margin by 14. The Golden Eagles scored 19 second-chance points from its offensive rebounds.
Forbes led the Golden Eagles on the glass, grabbing eight boards. She scored 15 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field, including making 3-of-6 from 3-point land. Red shirt-sophomore Charia Smith snagged seven rebounds off the bench.
This story was written by Trevor Hilson. He can be reached at trevor.hilson@marquette.edu or @hilsontrevor on Twitter/X.