On the Beat at Marquette Women's Basketball Media Day

Last season the Marquette Golden Eagles women's basketball team had a record of 24-10 and headed into the Big East tournament as the #1 seed. Marquette defeated Butler and Creighton in their first two games. Unfortunately, they fell to DePaul in the Big East championship game.

As I covered the Big East Women's basketball tourney last season, I was really impressed with Marquette. I decided then that I wanted to expand my coverage to include the team. That coverage started yesterday, when I attended Marquette's Media Day.

Monday's Media Day signaled the start of this season and the positive vibe was palpable.
Despite the tough championship loss, the immediate future looks great for Marquette. With 6 seniors, including the 2017-18 Big East Player of the Year guard Allazia Blockton, there is plenty of reason for optimism heading into the 2018-19 season.

While positivity is expected at this point for any team, this wasn't the standard excitement for a new season. The belief is real and based on a team loaded with talent. Of course, it all starts with Head Coach Carolyn Kieger.

A 2006 cum laude Marquette graduate, Kieger was a 4 year starter and 3 year captain. Her name is all over the Marquette leaderboards. After 6 seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Miami, Kieger returned to Marquette for the 2014-15 season. She has compiled a record of 72-56 (.563). Kieger led the team to the Big East championship in 2016-17.

Kieger's opening statement set the tone. She said there are big expectations for her team. She followed that by stating, “Execution beats expectations.” That's a very powerful message. Kieger has been around long enough to see other teams fall very short of expectations. Coach Kieger is not going to allow her team to rest on those expectations.

The 6 returning seniors are the aforementioned Blockton, captain forward Sandra Dahling, guard Natisha Hiedeman, forward Erika Davenport guard Danielle King and guard Amani Wilborn. That's quite an impressive core. Having already played in 2 Big East Conference championship games, they look to add the third, culminating with another title.

Kieger emphasized the importance of the seniors leaving their mark and enjoying their final season, immersing themselves in the whole experience. Of course, the most fun would be closing out their Marquette careers with a title.

A lot is also expected of the underclassmen, according to Kieger. Junior forward Altia Anderson, junior center Amanda Maqueia, junior guard Isabelle Spingola, sophomore Selena Lott, redshirt sophomore guard Lauren Van Kleunen and freshman forward Chloe Marotta need to step up their game and provide solid support for the outgoing senior class.

There is one final player to mention. Basketball is on hold for junior forward Tori McCoy After transferring from Ohio State and redshirting last season, McCoy looked to finally taking the court for the Golden Eagles. Unfortunately, last December, McCoy was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure. She gets dialysis treatments three times a week, while awaiting a kidney transplant. Her strength, courage and attitude provide a source of inspiration for the team. McCoy looked strong and determined on Media Day as she made the rounds.

As for actual strategies, Kieger talked of stressing defense (rebounds, field goal percentage etc.). Marquette gave up 98 points to DePaul DePaul in the championship game (and 95 points against them in the regular season). Kieger is determined to see the defense tighten this season.
The preseason starts Thursday, November 1, as Grand Valley State University comes to Al McGuire Center. The official season opener is Saturday, November 24, as Marquette hosts the University of Illinois-Chicago. Of course, Marquette hopes to be playing well into March 2019.

I will be “on the Beat” with the Big East Conference all season and I will be returning to Marquette several times as part of that coverage.