SPORTS

RANKING MUBB COACH SHAKA SMART’S OUTFITS DURING THE SEASON

SPORTS, 14

The MarqueTTe Tribune sports

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

PAGE 12

Next stop, The Garden

Photo by Collin Nawrocki collin.nawrocki@marquette.edu Redshirt junior guard Greg Elliott (5) finished with eight points and six rebounds in Marquette men’s basketball’s 85-77 win over St. John’s March 5 at Fiserv Forum.

MU locks up No. 5 seed in BIG EAST Tourney with win

By Sam Arco

samuel.arco@marquette.edu

With BIG EAST Tournament implications on the line Saturday night, the Marquette men’s basketball team defeated St. Johns 85-77 at Fiserv Forum in the teams BIG EAST regular season finale.

“I was really happy for our seniors, to win on Senior night against a really good St. John’s team that would just not go away,” head coach Shaka Smart said. “Our guys hung in there and continued to battle. I thought in our last game against DePaul we got disconnected and that never happened tonight.”

With the win, Marquette clinches the No. 5 seed and a first-round bye in the BIG EAST Tournament. The Golden Eagles will now take on Creighton in the quarterfinals March. 10.

With Greg Elliott, Darryl Morsell and Kur Kuath all being introduced before the game in honor of Senior Night, it was the young buck Justin Lewis who carried the freight once again for the Golden Eagles, posting a game-high 28 points.

Marquette came out the gates with intensity on both ends, starting the game on a 10-0 run forcing St. John’s to call an early timeout.

Morsell was feeling it early for the Golden Eagles, putting up eight quick points on 4-for-5 shooting to start the game.

After starting the game going 0-for-5 from the field, St. John’s shot 41.2% from the field in the first half to keep things from getting out of hand early.

Lewis also had a huge first half for Marquette, putting up 17 points in the opening frame.

With a combined 30 points from Lewis and Morsell in the first half, Marquette led 42-35 at the break over the Red Storm. Julian Champagnie chipped in 10 points for the Johnnies.

St. Johns started the second half strong, cutting the Marquette lead to 48-46 with 17:05 left in the second half.

It was a back-and-forth battle at Fiserv the entire second half, with neither side leading by more than double digits.

Marquette was getting quality minutes and key contributions from its bench in the second half from the likes of firstyears Stevie Mitchell and David Joplin.

Joplin finished with five points on 2-for-6 shooting in just six minutes of play.

“Jop is a guy who comes in and knows his role, which is to shoot and score,” Smart said. “I think he’s going to be one of the best scorers in the BIG EAST in time as he continues to grow and improve in areas.”

A 3-pointer from Mitchell at the top of the key gave Marquette a 69-61 lead with 7:36 left to play.

Despite struggling for most of the game from the 3-point line, Lewis provided Marquette with a much needed 3-pointer in the corner right in front of the Marquette bench to give the Golden Eagles a 76-67 lead with 2:02 to play.

Marquette shot 7-for-22 (31%) from beyond the arc.

Lewis would then do his diligence at the free throw line, sinking four straight at the charity stripe to help ice the game down the stretch.

As a team, Marquette went 20-for-25 (80%) from the free throw line throughout the game.

Alongside his 28 points on 9-20 shooting (4-for-7 from the 3-point line), Lewis finished with seven rebounds and two blocks to lead the Golden Eagles.

“Justin, I feel, is one of the most improved players in our league,” St. John’s head coach Mike Anderson said.

Morsell added 20 points on an efficient 8-for-14 shooting to go along with six rebounds and four assists.

Kuath was the only other Marquette player to finish in double figure scoring, posting 12 points and collecting seven rebounds on the night.

With the win, Marquette finishes the season with a 13-3 record at home after going just 7-7 at Fiserv last season.

Elliott, who has played five seasons for Marquette, finished with eight points and six rebounds in what could be his last game at Fiserv Forum.

“I’ve got to rank it at one or two (tonight’s game) in terms of my favorite games played,” Elliott said. “It still hasn’t hit me that this might be my last game at Fiserv yet.”

Elliott will have one more year of athletic eligibility following this season.

Up next, Marquette (19-11) will take on Creighton March. 10 at 1:30 p.m. CST in the BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinals in New York City.

The Blue Jays completed the season sweep over the Golden Eagles, winning both games by a combined total of seven points.

“Both of those games we certainly had our opportunities, but I thought Creighton went and took those games down the stretch,” Smart said. “Basically, the postseason started today, we knew we had to win to put ourselves in a better position and the guys did a great job of doing that.”

CLUB SPORTS Figure skating team embodies grace and determination

Rensch serves as team representative for U.S. College Skating

By Catherine Fink

catherine.fink@marquette.edu

Ballet, dance, strength, poise and ice are words that don’t sound like they belong together, but when those elements are added together, it’s the very definition of figure skating. Raw strength combined with the beauty of ballet and dance can mesmerize anyone watching the performance of a figure skater.

Many of the members on the club figure skating team found their way to ice skating at a young age and were inspired by others just like Kelly Littau, a sophomore in the College of Health Sciences DPT program.

“I started figure skating when I was six years old. Since my brother played hockey I always wanted to go to the rink with him. I saw the skating team practicing and I liked the pretty dresses and the beauty of their dancing ice,” Littau said.

Figure skating doesn’t have to end when college begins. Marquette’s figure skating club has a wide range of members with many who have been ice skating for a long time.

Kristina Chen, a first-year in the College of Nursing, said she has been skating since she was eight years old and wanted to continue in college.

“I was actually looking at Marquette for an extracurricular activity. I saw they had a figure skating club. I wanted to join it and continue my skating and competing but also have new experiences and meet new people,” Chen said.

The club offers skaters the option to continue training and to grow in their skating.

“We all learn from each other and have our own coaches back home so we all bring something different to the ice which helps improve our skills,” Chen said.

Vice President Michaela Brooke, a junior in the College of Health Sciences, said the camaraderie of the team is special.

“I didn’t have the dresses for competitions, but the older members were happy to share theirs with me so I could compete,” Brooke said.

Chen said while it is important to practice and spend time preparing for a competition, it is also important to make time for fun while learning new moves.

“Anyone can join, we went to the outdoor rink and we had fun goofing around and we took videos trying new tricks. It was just so fun and we like to teach other people new moves even if they are not part of the team,” Chen said.

While the team has fun, the end goal is to help its members grow their skill sets and encourage them to compete in other university competitions, Brooke mentioned.

“There’s different ways you can progress through the sport. Typical jumps and spins you see on TV are called moves, which is more like skating skills, so like edges and turns and other sort of footwork elements,” Brooke said.

Group practices are held at Milwaukee School of Engineering Mondays and Pettit National Ice Center Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Marquette’s club team is different from other figure skating clubs, as the team has many seasoned competitors.

Additionally, the club has a National U.S. Figure Skating Ambassador. Amanda Rensch, a second-year graduate student in the College of Health Sciences and the former president and captain of the intercollegiate skating team at the University of Notre Dame.

Rensch is representing Maquette University as the Midwest section ambassador for U.S Collegiate Skating which is a subset in the U.S Figure Skating Association.

Rensch said there are differences in some skating routines that she performs, when she skates with the team and when she is not acting as an ambassador.

“I do freestyle where I go out there and do a program and do jumps and spins and we have some skaters that do ice dance where it’s really focused on edge quality and turns and presentation and choreography,” Rensch said.

Marquette competes at a national level in the Midwest division, and its biggest achievement to date was in the 2019-2020 season.

“We’re in the Midwest division with about 25 schools where three different schools host every year. We placed fourth at a competition and we had enough points that we were alternates to go to nationals in the 2019-2020 season,” Littau said.

This past weekend, Marquette headed to the University of Miami Ohio for a competition. Brooke said members, including herself, tried out new areas of the sport.

“I’m doing my first ice dance pattern at this competition, which is very scary and exciting because I’ve never done it before,” Brooke said.

Littau said figure skating allows one to express yourself in a way other sports don’t.

“It’s really expressive, you show your emotions and bring that aspect into the sport where a lot of other sports don’t provide that. There’s also the element of artistry and it brings you back to why you started skating,” Littau said.

Photo courtesy of Marquette Club Figure Skating

Team competed at the University of Miami Ohio this past weekend.

Shaka Smart style showcases success in season

Executive Arts & Entertainment Editor ranks outfits

By Randi Haseman

randi.raseman@marquette.edu

During the early afternoon of Thursday, March 10, players on Marquette’s men’s basketball team will begin trickling into Madison Square Garden to face off against the Creighton Bluejays. The players will don their jerseys, stripes lining the players’ sides.

But the one Marquette man I’m most interested in will be just courtside, pacing and occasionally slamming the floor: head coach Shaka Smart. Who’s to say what Shaka will be wearing? In preparation of the BIG EAST Tournament, here’s a recap of some of the Smart styles we’ve seen this season.

Season Ticket Holder Practice Oct. 14

Shaka debuted this new “Lost in the Fight” tee for a practice at Fiserv Forum. This is one of the first looks we got into Shaka’s style – both in coaching and fashion. 4 out of 5 polos Haunted Hoops Oct. 31

Shaka stuck to a tried and true tee for this “Haunted Hoops” event at the Al McGuire Center. Milwaukee community members were invited to the Al to watch an open scrimmage and play Halloween games and activities.

While kids were showing up as Buzz Lightyear or Wonder Woman, Shaka dressed up as the coach who would turn Marquette’s men’s basketball program around.

The blue and white joggers look custom. I wish he would have chosen a different shoe, but I think he was trying to go for a color-coordination moment with the light blue lettering. 5 out of 5 polos

Marquette v. Bowie State Nov. 4

In this exhibition game, the team did not come to play around and neither did Shaka’s outfit in this 98-40 win.

This striped polo and white long sleeve is a certified Shaka classic.

He knows business professional shirts and ties are so over; an effortless layered look is definitely in this season.

The candid pieces also make Shaka’s sideline hype easier. 5 out of 5 polos

Marquette v. Southern Illinois UniversityEdwardsville Nov. 9

Despite being second to firstyear guard Stevie Mitchell and his 14 point performance, Shaka stole the show. This monochromatic piece pops against the white jerseys.

I would have liked to see more gold accents throughout this fit, but it’s early in the season. 3 out of 5 polos Marquette v. New Hampshire Nov. 12

This outfit drew inspiration from Shaka’s SUIE fit, but it didn’t work as well and that may be reflected in the win of 75-70 too. The light gray polo is a bit too oversized and contrasts too much with the black. Let’s just say, I expect more from you, Shaka. 2 out of 5 polos

Marquette v. No. 10 Illinois Nov. 15

“The theme of this game was audacity,” Shaka said after the game.

Shaka definitely had audacity to wear an achromatic outfit to clash against the bright, U-of-I orange.

While this Marquette win was one of the best from this season, I think the outfit should have matched the energy Shaka was bringing. 1 out of 5 polos

Marquette v. Northern Illinois Nov. 27

Shaka finally brought some color to the home games. This long sleeve and polo combo was totally out of the blue (haha) for Shaka. I’m a big fan of the championship blue, so this is an automatic W – just like the game. 5 out of 5 polos

Marquette v. Jackson State Nov. 30

Just as quickly as we see a splash of color, Shaka returns with another bloutfit (aka “black outfit”). Even the shoes Jordan 11 Jubilee are all black.

I’ll give some leniency because Marquette cruised to a 30-point victory over Jackson State. 4 out of 5 polos Marquette @ No. 23 Wisconsin Dec. 4

We can see from this away game photo that Shaka’s style doesn’t switch up on the road. This rival game was disappointing, but Shaka’s fit eases my pain slightly. The shoes are 100% needed for this apparel to work. 3.5 out of 5 polos

Marquette v. No. 4 UCLA Dec. 11

Another disappointing but understandable loss (upsetting top 10 teams is where we draw the line, I suppose). This navy blue long sleeve is a subtle change in the Shaka staple. 4.5 out of 5 polos (but only if it’s a navy blue long sleeve)

Shopping with Golden Eagles Dec. 12

Marquette’s basketball teams and Kohl’s cooperated on this event to merge the Marquette and Milwaukee communities. I love the Jordan winter gloves. Both on and off the court, Shaka has great style and heart. 5 out of 5 polos

Marquette v. No. 20 Seton Hall Jan. 15

This close game was a nail biter, but with the championship blue once again shining, we know who won the fashion and basketball contest. This is one of the best outfits I’ve ever seen from him. No notes. 5 out of 5 polos

Marquette v. No. 20 Xavier Jan. 23

The ref should have given Shaka a technical for unsportsman’s-like conduct: out-dressing everyone.

Following this game, Marquette debuted at No. 22. If AP had a top 25 poll for fashion, Shaka is top two and he’s not two.

5 out of 5 polos

No. 24 Marquette v. No. 12 Villanova Feb. 2

I’m a bit surprised Shaka’s accessories didn’t include a broom for this sweep. This cerulean polo is a different but welcomed choice for Shaka’s repertoire, especially paired with the navy long sleeve. 5 out of 5 polos

Marquette v. Georgetown Feb. 16

Georgetown isn’t a big contender for Marquette. That may be why Shaka didn’t go all out in the styling department for this look. While you already know I’m adoring the blue polo, the shoes are throwing me a bit off.

Photo by Collin Nawrocki collin.nawrocki@marquette.edu Coach Smart’s signature striped polo at Marquette v. Bowie State.

Photo by Alex DeBuhr alexander.debuhr@marquette.edu Shaka Smart in full gold attire at Marquette v. Xavier Jan. 23, 2022.

Photo by Collin Nawrocki collin.nawrocki@marquette.edu Smart sporting a classic polo while completing a season sweep of Villanova. 3 out of 5 polos Marquette v. Butler Feb. 26 – National Marquette Day

Natty Marquette Day is all about wearing the most amount of blue and gold you can possibly fit on your body. For his first NMD as a Golden Eagle, Shaka seemed to take the subtle route. To really show he’s a trendsetter and not a trend follower, he opted for a black and white ensemble. 2 out of 5 polos

Marquette v. St. John’s March 5 Here’s the man of this and every hour looking smug, knowing the Golden Eagles would pull off a win for Senior Night and Al’s Night. To finish off the last home game of the regular season, Shaka stuck to his roots of havoc defense, getting lost in the fight and a distinct fashionable flair. 5 out of 5 polos

WOMEN’S LACROSSE Black, Roche implements new training program

Coach mentions regimen brought squad closer together

By Jackson Gross

jackson.gross@marquette.edu

After failing to make the BIG EAST tournament for the second year in a row following the 2020-21 season, Marquette women’s lacrosse head coach Meredith Black, along with assistant director of sports performance Stu Roche met to discuss the training regimen for the team.

What followed this discussion was the creation of a new training program for the team.

While this was all implemented after the 2020-21 season, Black said this is something that she and Roche have been discussing with the players for years.

“We collect feedback at the end of the season, every year, and I think for the past couple years there has been a trend in the direction of girls wanting to push a little harder, or positive feedback from the lifts,” Black said.

Black said it was a good time to change things up because of how little the team could do in these areas due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This year those restrictions were lifted, so it really made sense to make that switch over now because it was an easy transition,” Black said.

This new program began in the summer after all the players had gone home to start their personal training.

With the team being scattered across the country, one of the main concerns for Roche and Black was being able to keep the team engaged in what they were doing during the summer with everyone “being left to their own devices.”

“One of the silver linings of the pandemic is that we have been able to transition from what we have previously done in sending the players home with a few pieces of paper in hand from the last meeting of the semester that we just detail their program,” Roche said.

Beyond that, Roche and Black came up with a way to keep the team connected and accountable by using what is called a “penny swap.”

“They have pennies or vest tops that they wear that have their number on there, we just dump them in a pile in the middle of the room at the end of the semester and they would randomly pick a penny of the pile and they will be your ‘accountability buddy’ for the summer,”

After the team returned to campus for the fall, Roche said

Photo by Collin Nawrocki collin.nawrocki@marquette.edu Junior midfielder Emma Soccodato in Marquette women’s lacrosse’s 16-13 win over Cincinnati Feb.12. the program centered around catering the program to each athlete, whether it be lifts, workouts or what he calls maximum aerobic speed (MAS) running in which an athlete goes from an aerobic to anerobic state in the run.

“So they would not be able to sustain that speed anymore for an extended period of time,” Roche said. “We’re basically looking for that threshold that their fitness can carry their speed and so every athlete is evaluated with the yoyo intermediate run test and the yoyo IRP 1 and so we get a score from that and which we can convert into an estimated maximum aerobic speed.”

After implementing these new measures when the team came back in the fall, Black said she was excited with where the team was at in terms of their shape. “The fall was incredible, our girls at the end of the season were in just unbelievable shape, everyone was running faster than they ever had and it showed in the numbers,” Black said. Many of the players, including senior midfielder Lydia Foust, said that this is the hardest the team has worked heading into her third season with the team. “I think the coaches really pushed us, I think because of COVID-19 we were held back a little bit in terms of what we could do and this year they fully pushed us to our max level with our strength coach with us multiple times a week,” Foust said. “Really we’re just in the best shape any of us have been in and so it was definitely difficult but prepared us for these upcoming games.” With all that hard work, Black said she believes that it helped bring the team together heading into the season. “Going into this year I think the team was the closest-knit team maybe since our first year of our program,” Black said. “Whenever you have to take on a a really challenging situation together as a group it just automatically helps you grow closer in connectedly, so I think them going through this in the fall was great because it was challenging.”

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL First quarter struggles lead to loss to UConn

Duffy’s crew now awaits to hear fate on NCAA Tournament

By Ben Schultz

benjamin.a.schultz@marquette.edu

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – The Marquette women’s basketball team’s streak of five-straight appearances in the BIG EAST Tournament finals came to an end Sunday afternoon after a 71-51 loss to No. 7 UConn in the semifinals at Mohegan Sun Arena.

“Obviously that first quarter they (UConn) came out, just threw I think every punch we could handle,” Marquette head coach Megan Duffy said. “Their defense was tremendous. Thought we had some good offensive looks in that first quarter but were unable to make them.”

UConn did open the game throwing the first punch as Duffy said with a 7-0 scoring run forcing her to call a timeout just over two minutes into the game. Following the timeout, junior guard Jordan King scored the first basket for Marquette.

From there, the Golden Eagles finished 3-for-19 from the field in the first quarter, missing a mix of wide open and heavily contested shots. The Huskies went 10-for15 from the field and 2-for-3 from 3-point range.

Duffy said Marquette’s poor shooting effort translated into UConn’s offense getting open looks.

“In that first quarter we were definitely very cold and that led them to getting kind of anything they wanted in that first quarter,” Duffy said.

UConn was able to keep its offense flowing starting the second quarter on an 11-0 scoring run, totaling a 19-0 run that stemmed from the first quarter.

Marquette ended the run with a basket from sophomore forward Liza Karlen as the Golden Eagle offense started to pick up some steam. Following the underfive media timeout, Marquette outscored UConn 5-4 and held the Huskies scoreless the final 2:14 of the half.

At halftime Marquette trailed UConn 39-18 and shot 8-for-36 from the field. The Huskies were able to make more than half their shots in the half, going 17-for-32 from the field.

After being held scoreless in the first half, graduate student forward Lauren Van Kleunen came out and scored the Golden Eagles first seven points in the third quarter.

The Golden Eagles then would go on an over five-minute scoring drought, failing to score another basket until the 2:17 mark of the third quarter.

In that time, UConn scored 12-straight points including backto-back three’s from redshirt senior guard Evina Westbrook. Marquette subsequently called timeout before finishing the quarter outscoring UConn 5-4, including a three from graduate student guard Karissa McLaughlin.

The final frame opened with sophomore guard Danyel Middleton getting a steal and a fast break layup to start a 5-0 scoring run for the Golden Eagles. Marquette continued to make shots and outscored UConn 9-2 over the first 3:32 of the quarter.

“Towards the end, the last 15 minutes I think we really competed at the level we wanted to,” McLaughlin said.

Photo courtesy of Ben Soloman

Women’s basketball fell to No. 7 UConn in the BIG EAST semifinals.

The Golden Eagles found themselves in a hole too big too dig out of going into the second half, but were ultimately able to outscore the Huskies in the second half, 33-32.

Overall, Marquette shot 20for-64 from the field and 5-for-7 from the 3-point range.

McLaughlin led the way in scoring for Marquette, playing the whole game and scoring 15 points. She also added two assists and a rebound as well.

“I think Coach Duffy just wants her scorers and play makers to stay aggressive,” McLaughlin said. “I was just doing everything I could to keep my team in it.”

In her final BIG EAST Tournament game, Van Kleunen scored nine points, grabbed six rebounds and had one assist.

“I’ve been so lucky to be her coach for a couple years,” Duffy said. “Just the last really two weeks of the season, the way she’s been completely, literally giving every ounce of what’s left in her, energywise.”

Marquette (21-10, 13-7 BIG EAST) will now wait to see where and if its season will continue, as the NCAA Selection Committee will decide the NCAA Tournament fate for the Golden Eagles. The fields for both the NCAA Tournament and the WNIT will be announced March 13.