SHORT: Duffy’s crew shifts focus to March Madness

Continued from page 16 intensity turned up,” Duffy said. “Their tenacity, their fight, they’re slapping the ground, trying to get our little crowd involved. That energy fed off one another and that’s been our staple all year. It’s really good to see it when it matters the most.”

Senior forward Chloe Marotta netted 14 of her 18 points in the second half alone, while pulling down a total of 14 boards on the day. This marked her ninth double-double of the season and the 15th of her career.

“I knew it was going to take a lot of rebounding ability,” Marotta said. “Coach talked about it, we were only up by two in the first half on the boards. ... For Liza and I to do that in the second half was really important.”

Duffy spoke on how much Marotta has grown throughout her five years in the program.

“One of the most improved players in the country,” Duffy said. “Chloe was always that bulldozer. Now, she’s settled into a go to player role, which has been really cool to watch her grow and take advantage of every opportunity she has here especially in March.”

As a team on the NCAA Tournament bubble, Saturday’s 57-47 win over St. John’s helped Marquette’s NCAA Tournament picture.

Prior to Saturday, ESPN Bracketologist Charlie Creme had the Golden Eagles in the “Last Four In” portion of the bracket, but the win over St. John’s moved them up to the “Final Four Byes.”

Marquette is currently projected as a No. 10 seed facing No. 7 Florida State in Salt Lake City in the First Round.

Sunday’s matchup was a rematch of last year’s Big East semifinals with No. 1 seed UConn.

Marquette was unable to replicate its performance against UConn back on Feb. 8 when it picked up its first win against the Huskies in program history.

Foul trouble and offensive inconsistency were too big to overcome for the Golden Eagles as the Huskies single-handedly took this one 81-52.

UConn’s offense found its spark immediately as it went on a 7-0 run that put Marquette down 9-2 and forced Duffy to call a timeout.

In the second quarter, Marquette went on an 8-0 run of its own to cut its deficit to five points, but UConn put its foot on the gas and didn’t look back.

“We made a nice little run in the second quarter, and I thought the momentum was turning a little bit, but that’s what we’re seeing now,” Duffy said. “Their (UConn’s) depth in 10 available people is very different than it was a month ago.”

The second half was more of the same as the Huskies outscored the Golden Eagles 24-14 in the third quarter. They led by as much as 33 in the fourth quarter when sophomore guard Azzi Fudd made a jumper.

UConn’s defense also proved to be an issue for Marquette as it forced 17 Golden Eagle turnovers on the afternoon.

“Give UConn a lot of credit (with) their big bodies, their physicality,” Duffy said. “Some of our cuts and movement, we just couldn’t do anything. Forced us to take some difficult shots and we got rattled.”

Every UConn starter scored in double figures, while King and Marotta were held to just seven points on 3-for-24 shooting.

Karlen was a bright spot in Marquette’s offense, scoring 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting. The St. Paul, Minnesota native averaged 17 points in two tournament games.

“She (Karlen) got off to a great start just playing some great basketball,” Duffy said. “She had a heck of an injury this year. Now, she’s getting her legs under her, steady with her shooting. Just really happy for that kid to find some positive basketball here late in the season.”

The Golden Eagles now look ahead to Mar. 12 as they hope to hear their name called during the NCAA Selection Show. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. CST on ESPN.

“We’ve had a really good season,” Duffy said. “This is the best this league has been in a lot of years. We’re trying to get more recognition and attention to be in that NCAA tournament. I hope the body of work outside tonight’s game will be recognized.”