SPORTS

NO. 14 VOLLEYBALL GEARS UP FOR BIG EAST TOURNAMENT

SPORTS, 14

The MarqueTTe Tribune sPORTs

Tuesday, noveMber 22, 2022

PAGE 16

Turnovers cost Duffy’s team title

Golden Eagles outscored 13-5 by Bruins in overtime

By Jack Albright

jack.albright@marquette.edu

Entering the day with a chance to hoist a hubcap on the national stage, the Marquette women’s basketball team fell to No. 20 UCLA by a score of 66-58 in overtime Monday afternoon in the Battle 4 Atlantis Championship Game.

“I’m just really proud of our program for the performance we had this week,” head coach Megan Duffy said. “There’s no better way to start the day than with the fi nal going to overtime. I thought our toughness and grittiness is good, but give UCLA a lot of credit. Down the stretch, they made tremendous plays and we just came up a little bit short.”

Marquette fi nished runner-up in the tournament with wins against then-No. 3 Texas and Gonzaga. The Golden Eagles earned 65 votes in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 Poll, which is equivalent to the unoffi cial No. 27 team in the country.

“The greatest thing we learned is that we can compete against the top teams in the country,” Duffy said. “We feel like we should be considered for a national ranking.”

But in order to receive national ranking conversation, the Golden Eagles will have to reduce their turnovers. Duffy’s squad turned over the ball 24 times Monday afternoon, resulting in 28 points for the Bruins.

Photo courtesy of Marquette Athletics

Senior guard Nia Clark attempts a layup in women’s basketball’s 66-58 loss to No. 20 UCLA in the Battle 4 Atlantis Championship Game.

Senior forward Chloe Marotta fi nished with a team-high 15 points, a team-high eight rebounds and a pair of blocks. Marotta earned All-Tournament Team honors after averaging 13.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game this week.

The fi rst quarter was a lowscoring affair from both sides, with Marquette holding a 6-4 lead heading into the under-fi ve media timeout behind four points from senior guard Jordan King.

Despite a defensive battle from both sides, as UCLA and Marquette combined to shoot just 29.6% from the fi eld in the quarter, the Golden Eagles led 11-8 after the fi rst 10 minutes.

Senior guard Claire Kaifes began the second quarter with a 3-pointer to extend the Marquette lead to 14-8. Neither team found offensive production until the 1:18 mark of the frame when UCLA senior guard Charisma Osborne scored from the charity stripe to reduce the Bruins’ defi cit to 25-21.

The fi rst half ended with the contest tied at 27-27 after King missed a buzzer-beater shot from half-court.

UCLA started the second half with a 3-pointer from sophomore forward Emily Bessoir, kickstarting a 13-8 run to begin the quarter for the Bruins. Out of the timeout, fi rst-year guard Mackenzie Hare sparked a 7-0 extended run for Marquette hitting a 3-pointer. Hare’s 3-pointer was followed up immediately with a layup in n transition from Marotta to tie the game 40-40, forcing a UCLA timeout.

Much like the previous quarter, the fourth began knotted up at 44. With 15.7 remaining in regulation and down two, Marotta got to the basket with the right-handed scoop shot after making a move on a UCLA defender to tie the game at 53-53, forcing the Bruins to call a timeout.

As it has been a theme in the Duffy Era, the Golden Eagles locked in on defense in the fi nal seconds forcing three-straight misses from the Bruins. Marquette held UCLA scoreless in the fi nal 2:15 and 1-for-11 from the fi eld.

Forty-one seconds into overtime, King fouled out. It led to Hare replacing King on the court.

“Kenzie did well overall, there’s nothing more valuable than experience and time on the court,” Duffy said. “When Jordan was on the bench, it was Liza and Chloe who stepped up and made some big shots for us, and we shifted our mindset from our guard play and tried to get, obviously, touches.”

Hare lead all Marquette scorers in overtime with fi ve points but ultimately was unable to help her team overcome turnovers and shooting struggles as UCLA sealed the win on four straight free throws.

“They (UCLA) got a couple quick baskets and I thought we lost a little bit of momentum, though we didn’t totally lose it,” Duffy said. “Possessions changed a little bit and we were relying on a few of our secondary players. They (UCLA) kept hitting the boards.”

The Golden Eagles ended the game with zero steals, while the Bruins had 13.

Marquette (5-1) will now have fi ve days off before its next game when they welcome in Saint Francis Sunday at 2 p.m. CST in the Al McGuire Center.

GOLF Winter weather moves the course indoors

Golf team embodies year-round training in the AHPRC Building

By Trevor Hilson

trevor.hilson@marquette.edu

The winter weather has shut down golf courses for the season, but that hasn’t stopped Marquette’s golf team from putting the ball in the hole.

And within the Golden Eagles program, there is an importance of practicing all-year around.

“It’s harder to get back and compete at the highest level in golf if you take a break. Especially since we have our spring conference season, we need to be ready for February,” senior Nico Evangelio said. “We are in a different situation because some teams in the south have more opportunities than us to be on golf courses in the winter, and we have to outwork them and be more prepared for the spring being indoors.”

With the technology and space that the team has inside Marquette’s Athletic and Human Performance Research Center, the team is able to can work through the break in their season to be able to compete when play resumes in February.

Built in 2019, the AHPRC serves as the home to men’s and women’s lacrosse in addition to golf. The team is positioned on the second fl oor. Prior to entering “The Lab,” which the team calls its training area, visitors are greeted by Big East Conference Title trophies and a map of the country with golf balls showing where the team has played in previous years.

“The Lab” features the team’s locker and equipment room, three simulator bays for swing practice, a chipping area and putting green where players can practice various shots.

In addition, the conditions of the turf can be changed to fi t any shot situation that the team would like and the green speeds can be changed by rolling out the turf.

Senior Bhoom Sima-Aree said the short game area is one of his favorite parts of the team’s indoor facilities.

“We have short grass, rough and even a simulated bunker,” Sima-Aree said. “Having a