MILWAUKEE – After pulling to within a point at the half, the Golden Eagles fell to the Syracuse Orange 66-55 Tuesday night at the Al McGuire Center.
A clutch 3-pointer from Tatiyiana McMorris in the closing seconds of the first half had Marquette down only 32-31 at the break. However, the team was unable to continue the momentum and shot an abysmal 30 percent from the floor in the second half. Marquette also missed all 11 attempts from three-point range in the second half.
In the last 11 games, the Golden Eagles’ final results have alternated evenly between wins and losses, leaving the team 5-6 during that stretch. The team last won consecutive games on December 7 - topping Kansas five days after beating Northwestern.
The team came in with high hopes, as senior guard Krystal Ellis returned from an injury that kept her sidelined during the previous win over Georgetown. Ellis started the game 25 points behind Abbie Willenborg for Marquette’s all-time scoring record.
However, she finished with only 9 points on 4-of-11 shooting, including 1-for-6 from beyond the arc. Ellis also missed both free throw attempts. Marquette plays its next two games on the road, at Pittsburgh and South Florida, and barring any unforeseen circumstances Ellis will break the scoring record away from the Al McGuire Center.
Leading scorer Angel Robinson also had an off-night for the Golden Eagles, tallying only 7 points – half of her 14.2 points-per-game average – while being plagued with foul trouble.
Freshman forward Jessica Pachko provided a much-needed post presence, leading Marquette with 11 points, all coming in the second-half. Pachko shot 4-of-7 from the floor and 3-of-5 from the charity stripe while grabbing six rebounds and blocking two shots. Marissa Thrower also provided a spark off the bench, contributing 7 points and 4 rebounds in only 8 minutes of play.
Syracuse picked up their first win in Milwaukee after losing on their previous three trips. The Orange corrected a 3-game skid in the Big East on the shoulders of two players, as senior guard Chandrea Jones and junior forward Nicole Michael combined for 40 points.
Michael tallied 18 points, including 14 in the first half, while Jones took over the second-half, scoring 16 of her game-high 22 points after the break. She also grabbed 11 rebounds to pick up her 6th double-double this season.
Marquette looks to rebound at Pittsburgh on Friday night.