Marquette Golden Eagles
Overall Rank: #42
Conference Rank: #3 Big East
Marquette has had two very good seasons under Coach Megan Duffy. Last season resulted in a quick exit from the NCAA Tournament, but the Golden Eagles should get another crack at it in 2022. Losing Selena Lott and Camryn Taylor hurts, but Coach Duffy has brought in a couple transfers that could step right into those roles.
2020-21 Record: 19-7, 14-4
2020-21 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Megan Duffy
Coach Record: 43-15 at Marquette, 87-35 overall
Key Departed Players (starters in bold)
Selena Lott, Guard, 14.7 ppg
Camryn Taylor, Forward, 12.0 ppg
Taylor Valladay, Guard, 5.2 ppg
Key Returning Players (starters in bold)
Lauren Van Kieunen, Senior, Forward, 13.2 ppg
Jordan King, Sophomore, Guard, 9.0 ppg
Chloe Marotta, Junior, Forward, 6.8 ppg
Liza Karlen, Freshman, Forward, 4.0 ppg
Claire Kaifes, Sophomore, Guard, 3.4 ppg
Antwainette Walker, Sophomore, Guard, 2,5 ppg
Rose Nkumu, Freshman, Guard, 0.7 ppg
Julianna Okosun, Freshman, Forward, 0.6 ppg
Nirel Lougbo, Sophomore, Guard, dnp last season
Key New Players
Karissa McLaughlin, Senior, Guard, Transfer from Purdue
Kennedi Myles, Sophomore, Forward, Transfer from Illinois
Makiyah Williams, Freshman, Forward
Projection:
Karissa McLaughlin comes from Purdue where she had a great freshman campaign back in 2019-2020 when she averaged 13.1 points, 3.4 assists and 1.1 steals. She will look to regain that form in 2021-2022. Kennedi Myles is another Big Ten transfer. The 6-2 forward was a two-year starter at Illinois and averaged 8.7 points and 8.0 rebounds last season. Myles will join Lauren Van Kieunen and Chloe Marotta in the frontcourt. Van Kieunen tallied 13.2 points and 5.8 rebounds last season, while Marotta added 6.8 points and 6.2 rebounds. Liza Karlen should again add quality depth to the frontcourt. Jordan King is the new leader of the backcourt. She averaged 9.0 points, 4.0 assists and 4.2 rebounds during her sophomore season and could be a very dynamic offensive threat if her outside shot starts falling more consistently. Claire Kaifes could turn into one of the more important players on this team. She will likely come in off the bench again, but Kaifes is the best pure shooter on the team and Marquette needs somebody who can knock down three-pointers consistently if they are going to reach the NCAA Tournament.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 70.5 (83rd in nation, 5th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 61.7 (97, 2)
Field-Goal Percentage: 46.0 (17, 2)
Field-Goal Defense: 39.4 (129, 3)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 4.2 (299, 9)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 32.0 (128, 5)
Free-Throw Percentage: 71.0 (146, 9)
Rebound Margin: 8.1 (18, 2)
Assists Per Game: 19.3 (7, 3)
Turnovers Per Game: 15.2 (142, 6)
