Maybe it was the adrenaline rush from playing in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 2,508, the fifth-largest crowd in Marquette University women's basketball history.
Or maybe it was the thrill of playing an in-state rival.
Whatever the reason, Marquette's Golden Eagles showed a killer instinct that has been sorely missing even on their march to a now 7-1 record. The victim in this case was Wisconsin, 69-65, Wednesday night at the Milwaukee Arena.
As was the case in their victories over Dayton and Brigham Young, Marquette was in control most of the night against the Badgers. The difference this time, however, was that the Golden Eagles didn't limp to the finish, they roared to it.
Marquette, a team that made just one of eight free throws down the stretch against BYU two nights ago, hit nine of 13 with the game on the line this time. It all came down to a battle of wills in the final minute.
Wisconsin appeared to be in a position to challenge when LaTonya Sims hit a pair of free throws to bring the Badgers to within 67-65 with 1:03 left. Tamara Moore, playing the game of her life for the Badgers, tipped the ball away from Kiesha Oliver on the Golden Eagles' next possession.
Sims then took an ill-advised shot with 24 seconds left and fouled Heidi Bowman trying to grab her rebound. Bowman made one of two tries to give the Golden Eagles a 68-65 lead.
Moore, who led the Badgers with a personal-high 24 points, missed a three-pointer with 6.9 seconds left and Lisa Oldenburg pulled down the decisive rebound for the Golden Eagles.
Oldenburg, the game's leading scorer with 25 points, hit one of two free throws to ice the victory.
The key to Marquette's victory was probably its defense on Wisconsin's powerful front line. The Golden Eagles protected the lane and took their chances on letting the Badgers shoot from the perimeter.
"That was our game plan going in," Marquette coach Terri Mitchell said. "We knew how powerful they are inside, so we decided to pack our defense in the lane and take our chances."
The ploy couldn't have worked better. All three of Wisconsin's inside scorers - Sims, Jessie Stomski and Nina Smith - were held well below their averages.
Sims, who averages 15.2 points per game, scored 13 but shot just 4 for 18. Stomski scored 11 on 4-for-9 shooting and Smith scored eight points, hitting all four of her shots.
"Obviously it wasn't the effort we would like, but you have to give a lot of the credit to Marquette's defense," Wisconsin coach Jane Albright said. "They had a plan and it worked.
"I think Marquette is a very good team and you are going to see them play a lot of games this year. I think I'd have to give a game ball to Lisa."
Indeed, Oldenburg had a huge game for the Golden Eagles, hitting eight of 14 shots and hauling down a 15 rebounds to give Marquette a 39-31 edge in the statistic.
After Wisconsin opened the game by scoring the first six points, Marquette went on a 12-point run of its own and never relinquished the lead in the first half. Oldenburg, who scored 10 of Marquette's first 16 points to stake the Golden Eagles to a 16-9 lead, scored 14 of her team's 30 first half points.
Marquette enjoyed its biggest lead of the half, 29-20, on Oldenburg's layup basket off an assist from Kristi Johnson. But Wisconsin finished the half the way it began it, outscoring Marquette, 7-1, to pull to within 30-29 at halftime.
The Golden Eagles appeared certain to have a comfortable halftime lead but Tamara Moore had other ideas. Moore hit a 17-footer to cut the Marquette lead to 30-27 with 40 seconds left, and then hit a pair of free throws with :04 left after accepting an ill-timed charge from Kristin Seffern.