A memorable record-setting night for Lauren Van Kleunen leads Marquette to non-conference victory at UWM

The 5-mile trip between Marquette University and UW-Milwaukee is a short one, and it was the Golden Eagles' turn to hop on the bus and head to the Klotsche Center on Wednesday night.

Thanks to a big night from Lauren Van Kleunen, they returned to campus riding high after a 59-51 victory.

The graduate forward set a pair of records – one personal and one school – with 25 points on 12-for-20 shooting as she played in her 135th game since joining the Golden Eagles all the way back in the 2016-17 season.

"It's awesome to have that record," the Mason, Ohio native said in reference to her games-played mark. She was tied with Allazia Blockton, who played in 134 games from 2015-19. "It sounds like I'm a little old. But I prefer the word 'experienced.'

"I'm definitely happy about that. But I definitely just try to get better each day and be as consistent as possible."

The game was mostly a slugfest, with the teams combining for a grand total of one three-pointer in the first 36½ minutes before the Panthers connected on three in the closing minutes.

UWM dropped two straight since facing (and beating) the last in-state rival it had faced, the Wisconsin Badgers, on Nov. 24 before finally righting the ship last time out with a convincing 66-47 victory at Robert Morris.

MU, meanwhile, opened Big East play by drilling Xavier and Butler at the Al McGuire Center – a two-game stretch in which the Golden Eagles trailed by a grand total of just 2 minutes.

The Golden Eagles never trailed in this one, were tied just once, at 2-2, and had opened a 29-18 halftime lead thanks to a stifling defensive effort that saw the Panthers connect on just seven shots (only 1 of 8 three-pointers) while committing 10 turnovers in the first two quarters.

MU had limited its opponents to just 35.5% shooting in eight games coming in, so the stinginess came as no surprise.

Neither did the Golden Eagles’ dominance on the boards, as they enjoyed a 21-11 advantage after entering ranked sixth in the nation with a rebounding margin of plus-14.2 and an average of 44.6 per game.

UWM coach Kyle Rechlicz went with twin towers Megan Walstad and Emma Wittmershaus to start but neither was able to establish herself with the ball nor control Van Kleunen.

After a three-point first quarter, Van Kleunen scored 12 of MU’s 16 points in the second quarter and then carried that hot streak over to the start of the third by scoring on each of the Golden Eagles’ first three possessions.

That made it a 35-18 game, leaving Van Kleunen with 21 points on 10-for-14 shooting and forcing Rechlicz to call timeout.

UWM stopped the bleeding and after Sydney Staver scored five of the next seven points the Panthers had clawed back to within 37-25 and it was Duffy’s turn to regroup with a stoppage in play.

The Panthers looked to have made it a single-digit contest when Kendall Nead hit a tough runner in the lane while drawing contact. But she was instead whistled for a charge, the basket was waved off and MU scored on the other end.

Finally, UWM got to within striking range when threes by Sydney Staver and Miquela Santoro sandwiched around a Van Kleunen layup made it 51-43.

Staver then split a pair of free throws, but a busted defensive assignment on the other end led to a wide-open layup for Liza Karlen and the Golden Eagles held at least an eight-point advantage the rest of the way.

"I give a lot of credit to Marquette, because they are very physically tough. And they've got a post player that was named one of the top 30 seniors in the country, and she is one of the top 30 seniors in the country," Rechlicz said of Van Kleunen.

"When you're playing a team like that, you have to pick your battles. And for us, it was let's see if Megan and Emma can play a little 1-on-1 in the post maybe with a few digs. We were really trying to shut down their guards, which we did a great job of.

"But it's tough when you've got multiple options like that."

MU out-rebounded UWM, 38-29, with Chloe Marotta leading the way with 10 to go along with 13 points as the Golden Eagles avenged last season's loss to the Panthers at the Al McGuire Center.

That was a signature victory for Rechlicz and her squad, as they went on to one of the best seasons in program history. Wednesday's game moved MU's record to 25-4 all-time against UWM.

"Really thrilled to get a win against Milwaukee," said Duffy, who improved to 50-17 as Golden Eagles coach. "It’s always a great rivalry that we’ve been doing for many years. Kyle’s got a great program; they’re such a hard-nosed team and we know it’s always going to be ugly.

"We had a tough loss last year against them, so we knew it was really important to be focused and locked in."

UWM has two more games remaining to complete the in-state circle, a Horizon League home-and-home against UW-Green Bay Jan. 21 and 23, while Wednesday’s meeting with the Panthers was a one-and-done for the Golden Eagles with regard to Wisconsin opponents.

"I’ve known Kyle for a long time, and you want to play as many of your in-state people as you can," said Duffy. "She’s doing a terrific job with this program and this group of kids she has now.

"Obviously, it’s an easy commute either way, and we’re scheduled to play them back at The Al and we want to keep the rivalry and the game going as much as we can into the future."

The Panthers had their five-game winning streak snapped against in-state teams, but Rechlicz knows that just being able to play each season is a great statement for her program as well as women's basketball in the state.

"Thankfully, Megan is fine with playing," she said. "We're the mid-major school down the road, and I've been in some areas where some coaches at the higher-level schools won't play (the mid-majors).

"So, I appreciate that Megan and Marisa (Moseley, coach at UW) are willing to play the in-state schools. Because it is a big thing."

Staver's 16 points paced UWM.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Lauren Van Kleunen sets Marquette record in victory over UW-Milwaukee