Sports
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
MUBB’s tourney dreams over A 17-point loss to No. 8 Villanova ends any hope at a tourney bid
Tribune 11
US, Ukraine have a great diplomatic opportunity
By Kyle Doubrava
kyle.doubrava@marquette.edu
For those who still held out hope that Marquette could reach the NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection, Sunday provided the final nail in the coffin. After a definitive 73-56 drubbing at the hands of No. 8 Villanova, the Golden Eagles’ big dance dreams are dead, barring an unprecedented Big East Tournament championship. While Darrun Hilliard torched the Marquette defense with a careerhigh 26 points, the Golden Eagles couldn’t find any consistency at their own offensive end. Marquette shot just 40 percent from the field and gave the ball away 15 times, leading to 21 Villanova points off turnovers. With Hilliard leading the way, the Wildcats’ multi-faceted attack proved too much for Marquette’s defense. “Hilliard has always caused us problems,” coach Buzz Williams said. “But it’s partly because we’re so concerned about (JayVaughn) Pinkston and (James) Bell and (Ryan) Arcidiacono – those guys are all really good players. But it’s the collection of how they play, I think, that makes them so good.” Senior Jamil Wilson, one of the Golden Eagles’ deadliest potential weapons, didn’t even attempt a field goal until late in the second half. He made just one of four field goals and two free throws, finishing with five points. Seniors Davante Gardner and Jake Thomas combined for 48 points in Thursday’s win over Georgetown. Against the Wildcats, however, Thomas knocked down just one of his seven three-point attempts and Gardner posted a pedestrian eight points, scoring just three field goals. Thomas and Gardner combined for 13 points, tying the solo effort of
Patrick Leary
Photo by Valeria Cardenas/valeria.cardenas@marquette.edu
Senior Jamil Wilson scored five points in the loss at Villanova Sunday.
Marquette’s lead scorer, freshman Deonte Burton. It was another good individual effort for the tough freshman as he went five for seven from the field. Most of his points were well-earned tough shots against a quick, imposing Villanova defense that stifled the rest of the roster. Junior Todd Mayo chipped in 11, but even the Golden Eagles’ go-to scorer, who nearly led Marquette to an overtime comeback win against the Wildcats Jan. 25, could not get into a rhythm. Even more impressive was Villanova’s defensive job against Gardner, who notched a career-high 29 points in the first meeting. “It was really difficult to get it inside to (Gardner),” Williams said. “The baskets he did score, one was a straight-up post move, but two of them – one was on their pressure and the other was off dribble penetration. They did a great job, not just on their interior defense, I think they did a great job overall.” Marquette came into the contest in desperate need of an upset, but Williams said his team couldn’t match the Wildcats’ high level of focus and intensity. “I would say the number one
disappointment was we didn’t play as hard as we needed to in order to beat a team as good as Villanova. I thought at times we did, but from pillar to post, we didn’t … You have to play at a very high level from an intensity standpoint, and we did not do that the entire game.” The Golden Eagles will go without a top-25 regular season win for the first time since 2001, as they whiffed on five total opportunities against Ohio State, Wisconsin, Creighton and Villanova. Their highest RPI win remains a 76-60 victory over George Washington Nov. 29. Marquette’s final two games against Providence and St. John’s do hold meaning, however. If the Golden Eagles can avoid slipping into seventh place, occupied by 7-9 Georgetown, they will earn a bye in the first round of the conference tournament. The highest possible seed Marquette can acheive is No.3, and attaining it would pit the Golden Eagles against the sixth seed next Thursday at Madison Square Garden. That’s assuming they win out and get a little help from third-place Xavier (10-7).
Monday marked the 100day warning for the start of the most popular event in international sports, the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. In preparation for the big tournament, the United States national team plays exhibition matches, called “friendlies,” against solid competition. The US was originally scheduled to play Ukraine Wednesday, but due to the international controversy, the game was called off Monday afternoon. By Monday night, the game was back on. The Ukranian national team won’t compete in this summer’s tournament after France eliminated them in a playoff tie in November. However, the squad still carries a No. 18 FIFA World Ranking and features international stars like Anatoliy Tymoschuk, Andriy Voronin and all-time great, striker Andriy Shevchenko. That said, most of the buzz about the match will not even touch on the players on the field. The political drama related to the standoff between Ukraine and Russia will rightfully usurp any goals scored or injury news. Presently, Russia is mobilizing against Ukraine because President Vladimir Putin does not recognize the new political regime in the former Soviet Republic. The United States strongly opposed Russia’s intervention and the level of tension in the region is so high that Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer called the uncertainty “worse than at any point we’ve seen since 9/11.”
As such, the game, originally scheduled to take place in Kharkiv, was moved to the nearby island nation of Cyprus last week. For obvious safety reasons, the American team will not play in the crisis-ridden country. But is Cyprus really that much safer? Friday, a car bomb in a suburb of the capital Nicosia detonated on top of the automobile of the referees association’s president. No one was hurt in the blast, but all of the First Division matches in Cyprus were postponed over the weekend. It seems that if the United States plays the game Wednesday, it will enter a dangerous situation. But perhaps that makes playing the game all the more important. Sports, regardless of their form, are the ultimate distraction from the perils of daily life. They have the ability to make supporters feel the entire gamut emotions, from the epitome of elation to the depths of despair. Plus, with Ukraine and the United States taking place in the epic waltz that is the beautiful game at the highest level, this soccer match can bring people of both nations together. That is why this match needs to happen. The purpose of the friendly match isn’t to pit the two countries at odds, but to collaborate for mutual benefit of both teams. That, and the United States can use the match as an opportunity to oppose Russian intervention. The Russians can try and exert their influence on Ukraine’s government, but if the match goes on, they cannot rob the Ukrainian people of the joy of sport. Patrick Leary is a junior in the College of Communication. Email him at patrick. leary@marquette.edu. Follow him on Twitter @patrickkleary.
Women’s lacrosse wins 2 road games over weekend Michigan, Detroit victories give team first winning streak By Deny Gallagher Special to the Tribune
The Marquette Golden Eagles improved to 2-2 on the season after collecting a pair of victories against Michigan and Detroit this weekend. The road trip began Friday, when the Wolverines hosted the Golden Eagles for their inaugural home game. Michigan came out excited and scored five straight goals, the first coming just 43 seconds after the opening whistle. Marquette showed great poise, despite being down five goals early in the contest. The comeback started halfway through the first half as freshman Rebecca Putna scored her first collegiate goal. From there the team finished off the half scoring the next five goals to take a one goal advantage into the locker room. “Going down was tough but I
give a lot of credit to Michigan coming out strong, but we were able to keep a cool head and we didn’t let it get to us,” coach Meredith Black said. “(As the game went on) our confidence grew and (we) were able to fight back slowly one goal at a time.” The Wolverines tied up the match on multiple occasions in the second half, but Marquette refused to lose its grip on the game, earning the 12-10 victory in Ann Arbor, Mich. The tenacity was highlighted by a scoring drought of more than 30 minutes for Michigan. Even more impressive was the play of sophomore Claire Costanza, who had a career day, tallying five points on a goal and four assists. Freshman Julianna Shearer and sophomore Kenzie Brown led the team in scoring, each netting a hat trick and grabbing an assist on the afternoon. “Our attack had been playing really well in practice, and they showed that today,” Black said. “We are really versatile. Obviously Claire is so important to our team, but everyone else stepped up as well.”
Black’s squad looked to keep momentum rolling Sunday at Detroit. The team exploded on offense, as Shearer continued her productive weekend by netting four of the game’s first five goals. She would add one more goal in the opening frame, as the Golden Eagles took an 8-3 lead into the half. Freshman Amanda Bochniak played a career afternoon of her own as she tallied six points, netting a goal and adding five assists. Sophomore Hayley Baas scored another hat trick, while classmate Costanza found the back of the net as well. “(Julianna) is really great off ball. She’s a great cutter, she sees the field, she sees the play develop and she gets into a position to make herself a threat,” Black said. “Amanda has great vision with the ball. She sees the field so well that, with a little bit of pressure, can still make some nice feeds and see some nice opportunities.” Marquette notched its second consecutive victory, downing Detroit 15-9 Sunday afternoon. The Golden Eagles took 28 shots compared to Detroit’s
Photo by Marquette Images/Maggie Bean
Freshman Rebecca Putna netted her first collegiate goal against Michigan.
14 and held a 15-10 advantage in draw controls. The back-to-back wins mark the first win streak in program history. Marquette women’s
lacrosse comes back to Milwaukee for its 2014 home opener Friday at 1 p.m. against Duquesne at Valley Fields.