(MARQUETTE COMMUNICATIONS) UNCASVILLE, CONN – Outscored by a combined 15 points in in the second and third periods, Marquette fell in the quarterfinals for the second straight year at the BIG EAST Tournament at the Mohegan Sun Arena, this time 57-44 to fifth-seeded Creighton.
Skylar Forbes had a game-high 16 points to go with five rebounds. Halle Vice grabbed her league-leading 11th double-double of the season.
Trailing 3-2 in the opening minutes, Marquette went inside early for five straight points from Forbes. Creighton got a five-point swing late in the period following a 3-pointer from Ava Zediker. The shift gave the Bluejays a 12-11 lead after 10 minutes.
The Golden Eagles scored nine of the first 11 in the second with triples coming from Jordan Meulemans and Forbes. The second was a four-point play for the All-Big East First Team forward to move her up to nine points for the game. Holding its largest lead of the day at 20-14, MU’s shooting went cold and the turnovers began to come. The result was a 10-0 run for the Bluejays during the final 7:34 of the half.
Creighton extended its to advantage to nine out of the break. Vice ended Marquette’s drought after 11 minutes of game time had passed, scoring with 6:33 on the clock in the third. Following a CU turnover, the junior came right back down and added another two inside. The Bluejays answered though with five straight that brought their lead back up to 10 at 34-24 with under five minutes left in the quarter.
Despite calling a pair of timeouts in the period, MU saw a near four-minute drought occur that led to CU’s lead growing to 16 with 3:28 remaining in the third. Lee Volker ended MU’s drought with 1:42 on the clock, scoring her first points of the day.
Marquette looked to put a run together with less than six minutes to play, but timely shots by Creighton kept the Jays up by double-digits. Forbes provided five points, Jaidynn Mason had four and Meulemans added three during a 12-5 stretch. The Golden Eagles got as close as 10 with 2:20 remaining.
NOTES
- Marquette dropped to 15-6 all-time in its opening game of the BIG EAST Tournament.
- MU is 0-2 all-time as the No. 4 seed.
- The Golden Eagles shot a season-low 29.3% from the field.
- Skylar Forbes finished with a team-high 16 points
- Halle Vice recorded her 11th double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
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