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MILWAUKEE-Starting a new conference winning streak wasn’t easy, but the Connecticut Huskies’ women’s basketball program made it to No. 2 thanks to a triumphant fourth quarter.

Dominant efforts from Azzi Fudd and Dorka Juhasz allowed Connecticut to stave off pesky Marquette on Sunday afternoon at the Al McGuire Center. The freshman Fudd put in 24 points while Juhasz added 21 more and assisted on four other conversions from the field while headlining the UConn defensive effort. A 27-11 advantage in the final frame allowed the Huskies (17-5, 11-1 Big East) to escape from Milwaukee with a 72-58 victory.

Situated toward the top of the Big East standings, Marquette (17-7, 10-5 Big East) was looking to make a statement with the Huskies missing both Caroline Ducharme and Olivia Nelson-Ododa. They pumped their home crowd up early on after jumping out to a 21-14 lead, shooting 63 percent from the field over the first 10 minutes. Though UConn was able to trim things down to a one-point deficit by the end of the frame (thanks to triples from Christyn Williams and Evina Westbrook in the final minute), a dreary second quarter that saw the teams shoot a combined 10-of-28 from the field created a halftime break with a 31-all score. A similar slogging pace ruled the third quarter, though Marquette took the lead into the final frame thanks to Jordan King’s buzzer-beating layup.

Fudd and Juhasz led the way back for the Huskies, the former recovering from a four-point outing on Friday against DePaul in a very un-freshman performance. The pair united for 17 points in the fourth quarter, with Fudd’s jumper in the second minute giving UConn a permanent lead. Juhasz’s defensive efforts on the other end allowed no Marquette tallies from the field for nearly eight full minutes and forced seven Golden Eagles turnovers (compared to only five shot attempts). By the time King’s jumper ended the drought, UConn’s lead was well-preserved thanks to a 12-0 run entirely sourced by Fudd and Westbrook.

With 24 more, 10 coming in the fourth quarter, the freshman sensation Fudd has reached double figures in five of her seven games back from a foot injury that kept her out of the prior 11 contests. Westbrook, averaging 11 points over her last six showings, likewise stayed hot, putting in 15 more on a season-best 70 percent from the field (7-of-10).

On the losing side, Liza Karlen led the way with 15 points for the Golden Eagles, though only seven came after the first quarter. UConn improved to 13-0 all-time against the Golden Eagles, who served as the Huskies’ opponent in their return to the Big East Tournament’s championship game in Uncasville last season. The two sides are slated to meet in Hartford on Feb. 23.

The Huskies will return to action on Friday night in Cincinnati, where they’ll battle Xavier (7 p.m. ET, SNY). UConn is looking for another sweep of the Musketeers (8-16, 3-12 Big East) after

taking a 78-41 decision in Hartford on Jan. 15. Friday’s opponent ended a five-game losing streak on Sunday afternoon when they topped Providence 62-60.

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags