Marquette women’s basketball found its confidence in its nonconference finale 86-43 win over Division II Truman State.
It all started with an easy tipoff win from 6-foot-3 junior forward Skylar Forbes over 5-foot-11 sophomore forward Mallory Ott, which led to an immediate Forbes 3-pointer. From there, the Golden Eagles (8-4, 2-1 Big East) went on a 9-2 scoring run over the Bulldogs (5-6) in the opening minutes of the game.
But Marquette was not as dominant as it wanted to be in the first quarter, leading only 18-12 after 10 minutes. The team missed three layups early in the game, allowed five points off turnovers and turned the ball over three times.
From there, the Golden Eagles never looked back.
Just as she scored immediately in the first quarter, Forbes opened the period with a pair of layups, which junior guard Halle Vice followed with a fast break layup and a turnaround jumper. Marquette would score 13 unanswered to lead 31-12 before Truman State called a timeout with 5:12 on the clock. Over the quarter, the Golden Eagles allowed only one basket — on 15 attempts — and four points to lead 38-16 at halftime.
“What I was proud of was our response in the second quarter,” Marquette head coach Cara Consuegra said.
Both juniors finished the game with double-doubles. Forbes tied her career-highs in points (26) and rebounds (11), while Vice’s 22 points and 13 rebounds marked her second double-double in three games.
“Skylar just kind of took what they gave her,” Consuegra said said. “Obviously it would be easy to for her to just post up the whole game because of her height, but they were really working to take away the paint, and I thought she did a really good job knocking down some shots, playing outside, playing inside and again. Just taking what they gave her.”
While Forbes came out of the gate hot, Vice had a more frustrating start to the game, missing a 3-pointer and two layups early before she was pulled for two minutes.
“We took her out, just talked about how to refocus,” Consuegra said. “I thought she did an excellent job refocusing and then getting to spots and taking what they gave her. So when these two play like this, it’s really difficult to beat us.”
Despite Marquette winning by 43 points, the team’s roster became more depleted than it already is. Senior guard Jaidynn Mason was absent from the Al McGuire Center with an illness, and senior guard Kennedi Perkins went down early in the first quarter with an apparent right leg injury.
Consuegra hadn’t yet spoken with a team doctor for an injury update, but said she hoped Perkins isn’t out for a long time.
But senior guard Bridget Utberg was there to step up in the absences of Mason and Perkins, notching a career-high 11 points on a trio of 3-pointers, landing one in each of the final three quarters.
“That’s a credit to her and the way that she practices. She practices really hard,” Consuegra said. “She’s constantly preparing herself, she’s locked in on the bench, and that’s hard to do. So I was really happy for her and proud of her, to see her be prepared for this opportunity, and I thought she played very well.”
Marquette’s 86-43 routing of Truman State was a welcome victory following a tough conference loss at No. 1 ranked UConn. Now, the Golden Eagles enter full-time conference play, starting with St. John’s (11-2, 1-1 Big East) at the Al McGuire Center on Dec. 29.
“I’m excited,” Forbes said. “Our team is excited, and I think we’re really looking forward to what’s coming next.”
But not before taking nine days off.
“Definitely do what we’re supposed to,” Forbes said of the break. “And relax.”
“That’s a direct quote from coach,” Consuegra interjected.
This story was written by Mia Thurow. She can be reached at mia.thurow@marquette.edu.