MILWAUKEE (Interstat) — The Marquette women’s basketball team defeated Creighton 67-49 on Thursday night at the Bradley Center behind a strong defensive effort and 23 points from Olivia Porter. The Golden Eagles (11-5) held the Bluejays to just two points in the third quarter to pull away in the Big East contest. Marquette’s defense forced 14 turnovers and limited Creighton to 30% shooting from the field. Porter led all scorers. Kendall McGee paced Creighton (7-9) with 14 points. Marquette shot 50% from the floor and outscored Creighton 36-12 in the paint. Attendance was 1,297.

MILWAUKEE (Interstat) — A disastrous third-quarter offensive performance doomed Creighton as Marquette pulled away for a decisive 67-49 victory in a Big East Conference women’s basketball game Thursday night at the Bradley Center. The visiting Bluejays managed only two points in the pivotal third period, going 1 for 13 from the floor and committing five turnovers. That allowed the Golden Eagles to transform a manageable 29-24 halftime lead into a commanding 44-26 advantage entering the final quarter, a deficit from which Creighton could not recover despite a late scoring flurry. Marquette guard Olivia Porter, a sophomore from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, led all scorers with 23 points, including three 3-pointers, and added a steal in 32 minutes. Her backcourt mate, Jaidynn Mason of Kansas City, Missouri, orchestrated the offense with a game-high five assists to go with 10 points. The Golden Eagles’ defensive pressure and interior dominance were the story. Marquette outscored Creighton 36-12 in the paint and blocked three shots, with Halle Vice and Jada Bediako each recording one. Vice, a 6-foot-1 forward from Bettendorf, Iowa, was a force on both ends, contributing 10 points, seven defensive rebounds, a block and a steal. Creighton’s offensive struggles were stark. The Bluejays finished the game shooting just 30 percent from the field. Their offensive rating of 78.2 points per 100 possessions underscored a night of inefficiency, hampered by 14 turnovers and a 6-for-26 performance from beyond the arc. Kendall McGee, a guard from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, provided a bright spot for Creighton with a team-high 14 points. Grace Boffeli of Eldridge, Iowa, added eight points, but the Bluejays lacked the consistent firepower to challenge after halftime. The game began as a defensive struggle, with Marquette leading 11-7 after a first quarter where both teams combined for 10 turnovers. Creighton found some rhythm in the second quarter, scoring 17 points, but could never string together enough stops to overtake the Golden Eagles. Marquette’s balance proved overwhelming. Alongside Porter, Mason and Vice, forward Skylar Forbes of Markham, Canada, filled the stat sheet with 12 points, three assists and a game-high nine rebounds. Lee Volker of Purcellville, Virginia, chipped in seven points, four assists and a block. The Golden Eagles improved to 11-5 overall and 3-1 in the Big East, while Creighton fell to 7-9 and 1-3 in conference play. An announced crowd of 1,297 watched the contest. The most critical segment of the game unfolded in the third quarter. After Creighton’s Neleigh Gessert hit a 3-pointer early in the period to cut the deficit to 31-26, the Bluejays’ offense completely evaporated. Over the final 9:19 of the quarter, Creighton failed to score a single point from the field. They missed their next 12 shot attempts, mixed in turnovers, and managed only two free throws by Grace Boffeli with 8:57 remaining in the period. Marquette, while not spectacular offensively during that stretch, steadily built its lead through defensive stops and opportunistic scoring. A layup by Skylar Forbes at the 6:56 mark pushed the lead to nine. The Golden Eagles then closed the quarter on a 13-0 run, capped by two Olivia Porter free throws with no time remaining after a foul, turning a close game into a blowout and effectively sealing the outcome. Creighton will look to rebound quickly, hosting No. 1 Connecticut on Sunday. Marquette continues its conference schedule on the road at Seton Hall next Wednesday.

Preview: Creighton Bluejays at Marquette Golden Eagles MILWAUKEE (Interstat) — A surging Marquette squad looks to continue its strong start to Big East play when it hosts a struggling Creighton team at the Bradley Center on Thursday night. The Golden Eagles (10-5 overall) enter the women’s basketball matchup having won two straight conference games, most recently an 85-69 victory over Villanova on Sunday. They are powered by forward Halle Vice, who is coming off a dominant 32-point, 11-rebound performance. Over her last six games, Vice is averaging 19.3 points and 10.2 rebounds, including a 20-point, 19-rebound effort in a win at Xavier. Creighton (7-8) snapped a three-game skid with a 67-59 home win over Butler on Sunday. The Bluejays will rely heavily on guard Kennedy Townsend, who has been a consistent offensive force. Townsend scored 16 points with eight rebounds in the win over Butler and is averaging 18.4 points over her last five contests, including a 30-point outing in a narrow loss at Georgetown. Marquette holds a clear advantage in the early conference standings and has shown a potent offense, averaging 80.2 points in its 10 wins. Creighton has faced defensive challenges, allowing 74 or more points in four of its eight losses this season. The Golden Eagles won both meetings last season. Thursday’s game is the first of a regular-season series, with the rematch scheduled for Feb. 8 in Omaha. Following this contest, Marquette travels to face Seton Hall on Jan. 14, while Creighton hosts Connecticut on Jan. 11 in a daunting conference test. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. CST at the Bradley Center.