By: Donnie Menke ~Staff Writer~

It was a tough week for women’s basketball, dropping both of their games, losing 82-52 on the road against DePaul and losing on the road at Marquette 74-69.

Xavier went into the game against DePaul with a three-game winning streak in the Big East. Xavier moved to 17-7 (8-5) on the season, while the DePaul Blue Demons improved to 20-7 (12-2).

Imani Partlow was the team’s leading scorer with a career-high 11 points. Partlow was also the team’s leading rebounder, grabbing five boards.

While Partlow had a solid individual game, the team collectively struggled. Xavier was out rebounded 41-35 and committed a season high of 21 turnovers.

Xavier opened the game on a 7-0 run, but DePaul answered with a 13-0 run and never trailed again. DePaul would lead by as many as 22 points, 40-18, with 1:49 left in the first half before taking a 40-21 lead into the locker room.

Xavier hit 45 percent of its shot attempts in the first half, but committed 15 turnovers that the Blue Demons turned into 13 points, making a big difference in the game.

Xavier tried to bounce back against Marquette, but ultimately fell short, losing 74-69 in Milwaukee.

Xavier dropped to 17-8 (8- 6), while Marquette moved to 13-13 (8-7). The Golden Eagles also broke the tie in the series as Marquette improved to 8-7 in the all-time series.

It was a tight contest through the first quarter, featuring four ties and two lead changes with neither team leading by more than two possessions.

It was a close game at the end of the 3rd quarter, with Marquette ahead by 3 with a score of 51-48. However, Marquette opened the 4th quarter with a 17-2 run to take a 68-50 lead with 4:47 left. Xavier didn’t go down without a fight however, closing the game gap significantly before ultimately falling short.

RaeShaun Gaffney finished with a game-high 20 points and a team-high 11 rebounds, her first career double-double. She also added three assists and two steals. Aliyah Zantt added 18 points, while Briana Glover and Maddison Blackwell scored 16 and 12 points respectively to round out the double- figure scorers.

Although Xavier lost, it won the rebounding battle 40-38 and had more steals than Marquette by a tally of 10-7.

The Musketeers return to action at 7 p.m. on Friday against St. John’s at Cintas Center before hosting Seton Hall at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The Seton Hall game will be Senior Day for the Musketeers and the last home game for Jenna Crittendon, Glover and Zantt.