.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
Top-seeded Louisville awaits Marquette (Mar 17, 2018)
Despite going 0-3 against Top 25 opponents, Marquette played admirably in those games, taking two of the eventual winners -- then-No. 12 Tennessee and then-No. 2 Notre Dame -- to overtime.
But on Sunday, the Golden Eagles will have their toughest test this season, and just going to overtime won't quite cut it.
No. 8 seed Marquette will square off with host Louisville in an NCAA Women's Tournament Lexington Regional second-round matchup. The top-seeded Cardinals moved to 33-2 on the season with their 74-42 win over 16th-seeded Boise State on Friday in the first round at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.
The Golden Eagles (24-9) advanced to their first second round in seven years with an 84-65 win over ninth-seeded Dayton.
"I think we're just really excited for the opportunity to play a No. 1 seed on their home floor," Marquette coach Carolyn Krieger said. "They have two really high-level scorers, and we're going to have to do a really good job on (Myisha) Hines-Allen. They're big. We've got to pack the paint and make sure we can rebound with them. I think we have an advantage in the open court, and I think our girls will be excited for that matchup.
"At this point, we have nothing to lose. I think we will love the opportunity to come out here and see what we can do."
The Cardinals, who are seeking a second straight Sweet 16 berth -- and their eighth since 2008 -- didn't get much in their first-round win from either Hines-Allen, or her running mate Asia Durr, the ACC Player of the Year. Durr had nine points on 4-of-14 shooting and Hines-Allen was just 2 of 7 from the field.
But Louisville, blessed with standout depth, got 33 points from its bench, and the team held Boise State to 24 percent shooting.
"I thought our post play from the bench was the best that we've had," Cardinals coach Jeff Walz said. "Now, Myisha, rebounding-wise, she gets 14. But offensively, this was nowhere close to what we're used to seeing. And that's the encouraging thing. I'm just telling you, for me, I don't look at it as, 'Man, we got problems.' I'm excited to know we just scored 74 points.
Asia gets nine, Myisha gets four, and we're able to extend the lead. That's what you have to have. You have to have depth. You've got to. Somebody's going to have a bad night. If you rely on one person and they have an off night, you've got problems."
Against a deep and talented squad, Marquette will need to replicate the moxie it showed in losses to some of the country's best teams.
The Golden Eagles lost to Tennessee 101-99 in overtime back on Nov. 23, the team's third game of the season. Two weeks later, Marquette challenged in an 82-76 loss in Ann Arbor, and two weeks after that, it took No. 2 Notre Dame to overtime before losing 91-85.
With Natisha Hiedeman leading the way on Friday, the Golden Eagles dominated Dayton early in their opening matchup, taking a 45-31 halftime lead. Hiedeman had 32 points, five assists, five steals and four rebounds and Erika Davenport added 16 points.
"I just had open shots, and Coach was kind of giving me the green light," Hiedeman said. "If you have open shots, take them. And that's pretty much for anybody. So I was just taking the shots that I saw."
