It feels like it’s been longer than just last Friday night since Marquette women’s basketball played a game. Maybe that’s because Marquette did not look so hot for a good chunk of that 71-55 victory over Bowling Green. Maybe if Marquette hadn’t looked like they were trying to hand the game to the Falcons for the middle 17 minutes of the game, then I wouldn’t have a sense in my head of “it would be kind of great if Marquette got another game in here soon, just to get back in action and shake out some
of the bugs.”
Marquette going up nine late in the first quarter was a good sign as to what this team actually is. The same goes for the Golden Eagles taking a three point margin a bit past the midway point of the third quarter and turning it into a 22 point lead in the middle of the fourth quarter? Also a great sign. You don’t necessarily want to be kicking the lead back and forth after you were up nine, but running away with the game in less than 10 minutes of action after you lose that margin? That’s pretty good.
One thing I would really like to see on Wednesday night? Less than four turnovers from Skylar Forbes. she’s had at least four in every game this season. That’s given her a turnover rate of over 33% this season, which is really atrociously bad, even in comparison to her 24% marks as a freshman and a sophomore. She was already Not Good at that, and through four games, she’s somehow found a way to get worse.
Why does it particularly matter here? Because this is Marquette’s last game before High Major/Big East competition starts. After Wednesday, the Golden Eagles are off until they take on Iowa State in Florida on November 28th, followed by either Indiana or Gonzaga on the 30th. Then DePaul, and Butler later that week. Things get very real for Marquette’s season after Wednesday, and it would be a very good idea to start responding to alarm bells and fixing those problems now.
One last note: While Kennedi Perkins was on the bench for the Bowling Green game, I don’t think there’s anything to take away if she doesn’t play here, not with eight days off afterwards. If she plays, that’s great, she’s definitely okay after her scary stretcher job against Wisconsin on November 8th. If she doesn’t, I don’t think that quite tells us anything important yet.
IMPORTANT GAME INFORMATION: I think that Marquette fans attending this game are not allowed to get a root beer float.
Game #5: at Milwaukee Panthers (2-3)
Date: Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Time: 6pm Central
Location: Klotsche Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Streaming: ESPN+, with Matt Menzl calling the action.
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Twitter Updates: @MarquetteWBB
Marquette is 34-20 all time against Milwaukee. The Golden Eagles have won the last three in the series after last year’s 18 point victory and 11 of the last 12 dating back to 2009. Milwaukee’s lone victory in there came in December 2020, aka The Weirdest College Basketball Season Ever, so your mileage may vary when it comes to how seriously you want to take that one.
Milwaukee is coming off their second win of the season, and it probably came with a lot of big emotions attached to it. The Panthers were up five early in the fourth quarter and up one with 10 seconds to play before giving up a pair of free throws to Valparaiso. Grace Lomen drew a foul herself just about as time expired, but only hit the first one to force the contest to overtime. Lomen scored 10 of her 23 in the game and 12 of Milwaukee’s in the extra session to get the Panthers a 72-67 victory out in Indiana.
The Panthers were picked to finish ninth in the Horizon League this season, so a 2-3 start to the season isn’t the most surprising thing ever. Milwaukee took a 75-46 loss at Wisconsin back on November 10th, so that provides a measuring stick for Marquette. The Golden Eagles had beaten the Badgers just two days before that UW-UWM game, after all.
While Grace Lomen was the Hero Of The Day last time the Panthers played, it’s Jorey Buwalda that has top scorer honors this season. The 6’0” forward from Randolph, Wisconsin, is the only Milwaukee player averaging in double digits this season, and she’s barely over that bar. Buwalda is averaging 11.6 points per game, and let me tell you what: It’s not because she can hit a three-pointer. She’s 1-for-13 on the season, and given that Payton Rechlicz is 4-for-11 and Madison Fitzgibbon is 7-for-11, I have no idea why Buwalda’s shooting at all.
Milwaukee is a terrific defensive rebounding team, and Jorey Buwalda is a big reason why. She averages a double-double with 11 rebounds to go with those points we mentioned earlier. She’s also the only Panther averaging more than four rebounds this season. No joke: “Opponent knocked it out of bounds” is UWM’s second leading rebounder at 4.8 per game. They’re a great defensive rebounding team, ranking #72 in the country in terms of rate according to BartTorvik.com, but they’re very bad at offensive rebounding, down at #311. Marquette should be able to limit the Panthers to just one shot attempt per possession pretty easily, and thus whatever second chances MU gets become extra valuable.
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