Marquette moves past Butler, 73-61

CHICAGO --It was a tight contest, that came down to the wire, but the top-seeded Marquette University women's basketball team survived and advanced as the Golden Eagles defeated No. 8 seed Butler, 73-61 in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament on Sunday afternoon.

Junior Amani Wilborn had a stellar stat line as she led all scorers with a season-best 26 points, shooting 9-for-11 from the floor with four three-pointers. The Milwaukee native also grabbed six boards, dished five assists and added two blocks with two steals. Last year's tournament most outstanding player has averaged 19.3 points per game with 80 percent shooting in her past four BIG EAST Tournament games.

Natisha Hiedeman added 15 points for Marquette (22-8), while BIG EAST Player of the Year Allazia Blockton added 12 points.

Butler (15-17) kept the game tight until the final three minutes of play when the Golden Eagles used an 11-0 run to secure its victory. MU finished the day shooting 45.6 percent taking 30 points in the paint and established a new program record for the BIG EAST Tournament, connecting on 10 three-pointers.

Butler was led by Michelle Weaver with 17 points, while Tori Schickel added 16 points.

Marquette reached the semifinals of the tourney for the second straight year and will face the winner of No. 4 Creighton vs. No. 5 St. John's on Monday, March 5 at 3 p.m. CT. 

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