Golden Eagles’ hot fourth quarter shooting helps them advance to BIG EAST Final
By Julia Pagliarulo
Marquette Quotes | Creighton Quotes
MILWAUKEE—Amani Wilborn took over in the fourth and led three Golden Eagles in double digits as third-seeded Marquette advanced to its first final since joining the BIG EAST Conference in 2005-06 by a 72-65 score over second-seeded Creighton.
Wilborn poured in 21 points (nine in the fourth quarter), All-BIG EAST First Team honoree Allazia Blockton added 19 of her own to go with seven rebounds and Danielle King put up 18 points, five assists and five rebounds. This victory marks the first for Marquette in the last three games against the Blue Jays. The Golden Eagles forced the Jays, who are eighth in the nation with only 11.9 turnovers per game, into turning over the ball 13 times.
Creighton fell short of its attempt to make it to the final for the second consecutive year. The Blue Jays’ loss marks the second year in a row that the two seed has lost before the title game. Sydney Lamberty put up a career-high 26 points and snagged 15 rebounds but no other Jay hit double figures in the loss. The Blue Jays will likely play in next week’s NCAA Tournament with a 22-6 regular season record and a share of the BIG EAST Regular Season Title.
Prior to Monday’s action, the Jays were ranked in the AP National Poll for the first time in 25 years. Marquette’s victory over a ranked team is its fifth of the season as the Golden Eagles are now a perfect 5-0 against ranked opponents.
Both teams got off to a slow start as Creighton only led 7-4 at the first media timeout. However, the last five minutes of the first featured a barrage of baskets. The Jays netted four threes and Lauren Works rattled in a buzzer-beating runner to give Creighton the 22-18 lead through one. For Marquette, Blockton had a strong quarter and poured in nine points.
King knocked down a three-pointer a minute into the second to give Marquette its first lead of the game and the lead changed hands five times over the duration of the quarter. The Golden Eagles closed the half on an 8-2 run and led at the break 36-30. King had 14 points and five assists and Blockton put up 11 points and six rebounds. For the Jays, Lamberty netted seven points and grabbed eight rebounds while All-BIG EAST Second Team player Marissa Janning handed out seven assists.
Creighton narrowed the Marquette lead to one with the help of four triples, but a Hiedeman three and free throws from Wilborn and Davenport free throws pushed the Golden Eagles’ lead up to eight. In the last minute of the third, All-BIG EAST Freshmen Team honoree Jaylyn Agnew nailed a three and Lamberty hit a late layup to cut the deficit to just three heading into the last ten minutes.
The Golden Eagles opened the fourth on 7-0 run to take their largest lead of the game and the Jays were forced to use a timeout with 7:18 to go in the game. Coming out of the stoppage, Lamberty scored or assisted on six straight baskets to keep Creighton within striking distance. The Jays had the ball down six with just over a minute to play, but an Agnew turnover along the baseline sealed the Marquette victory.
Marquette will attempt to be the first three-seed to win the title since 2012 and the sixth overall as the Golden Eagles face the winner of the DePaul/St. John’s matchup tomorrow night at 8 p.m. Central. Marquette beat DePaul in both games this season and conversely dropped both games versus St. John’s.