June 4, 2007

COSTA de CAPANICA - In a highly contested rematch against the Portugal National Team, the Marquette women's basketball team was unable come out the victor for the second consecutive night and fell Monday night, 72-67. Sophomore to be Janelle Harris led Marquette with 13 points, while juniors to be Krystal Ells and Kelly Lam each contributed 12 points. Monday's game against Portugal marked the fourth and final game of the Golden Eagles' European Tour.

"We learned a lot about ourselves throughout this trip and playing back-to-back games against the Portugal National Team showed a lot about the character of this team," said head coach Terri Mitchell. "Even though we lost, the team played hard and never gave up. They kept pushing up until the very end, but couldn't get past a five-point deficit. What I love about this team is its passion for winning. This team expects to win."

Freshman redshirt Joceyln Mellen completed her first four games of competitive play with seven points; seven rebounds and drew three charges at key moments for her most dominating performance of the tour.

Marquette jumped out quickly to an early 6-2 lead before Portugal called its first time out of the game. After the brief break, the two teams traded buckets with neither team holding more than a one-point advantage. With the score knotted at 17 points apiece, Portugal sunk a pair of free throws to end the first qurter ahead, 19-17.

Ellis opened up the second half with the team's first long range bucket of the game, giving MU the lead, 20-19. Marquette continued to hold a small advantage, but Portugal scored seven straight points to pull ahead 31-25 with 4:21 remaining in the half. Harris connected on consecutive free throws and Mellen added a bucket to help the Golden Eagles to tie the game, 31-31, but Portugal went on a 9-3 mini run to end the half on top, 39-34.

After the break, the third quarter belonged to Portugal. It opened the quarter with treys for three of its first five made shots in the first three minutes of the third to take a 10-point lead, 49-39. By the end of the quarter, Marquette could only cut Portugal's lead to eight, 59-51.

In the fourth, Marquette continued its rally. Senior to be Svetlana Kovalenko's made free throw with just under seven minutes remaining in the game sparked a 7-0 run by the Golden Eagles. Harris nailed back-to-back jumpers and cut MU's deficit to five points, 65-60, with 5:12 remaining in the game. The closet MU would come would be three points, 69-66 with 2:38 left in the game. Portugal drove for a layup and sunk a free throw and it held off the Golden Eagles, 72-67.

"Everything we have wanted to get out of this trip: team bonding and immersing ourselves in different cultures we did and it will help define the future of this team. A solid foundation has been set. We will finish this trip on a high not and our team will go into the summer knowing what they are capable of doing in the fall."