Game Notes

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INDIANAPOLIS – Fresh off their first-ever BIG EAST Tournament win, the Butler women's basketball team will quickly shift their focus to the No. 1 overall seed, the #18 DePaul Blue Demons. Last night's win over No. 8 Xavier was a small upset in the tournament field, but if the Bulldogs can come up with a win today against the defending champs it would go down as the biggest win of the year, and arguably one of the biggest in program history.

Gameday Information
Date: Sunday, March 6, 2016 - 7:00 PM EST
Location: Chicago, Ill. – McGrath-Phillips Arena
Live Stats / Video: ButlerSports.com / FoxSports.com (FoxSportsGo)  
Series History: DePaul leads the all-time series 10-0
Last Meeting: DePaul defeated Butler 102-63 on Feb. 14

About Butler (No. 9 Seed)
Butler was able to upset Xavier on Saturday afternoon by playing great team defense. The Bulldogs jumped into a 2-3 zone which rattled the Musketeers and allowed the Bulldogs to open up a 24-15 lead at the half. Xavier couldn't connect from long range and Butler's interior defense was top notch as the Musketeers shot just 6-for-29 in the opening 20 minutes. All eight players that saw the court for Butler knew their defensive assignment against Xavier and all eight players scored at least two points in the win.

Blaire Langlois was the top performer down the stretch for BU as she led all players with a game-high 20 points. Langlois scored nine-straight points in the second half with the game on the line. With all eyes on her in the final two minutes of the contest, Butler drew up a play for Tori Schickel who made the game-winning field goal with 1:32 to play. Schickel ended the game with eight points and six rebounds. Fellow freshman Brittany Ward added eight points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots.

Scouting #18 DePaul (No. 1 Seed)
The Blue Demons are the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and also happen to be the reigning tournament champions from a year ago. They enter Sunday having won six-straight BIG EAST Tournament games, but they have never faced Butler in a tournament setting. Head Coach Doug Bruno has a strong scoring attack that features Chanise Jenkins, Megan Podkowa and Jessica January. January doubles as the floor general, leading the team and BIG EAST Conference in assists. Those three players along with Brooke Schulte and Jacqui Grant make up the starting five unit.

All-Time Series
Butler and DePaul took the hardwood against each other for the first time during the 1984-85 season. The Blue Demons won that game at Hinkle Fieldhouse 61-56 and have gone on two win the next nine-straight, giving them a perfect 10-0 record against the Bulldogs. The games haven't been close with DePaul averaging 85.8 ppg compared to just 57.2 ppg from Butler.

Last Time Out
Butler missed two chances to extend a lead in the final 30 seconds but still prevailed as a last-ditch Xavier shot fell short in a 48-47 BIG EAST women's tournament victory on Saturday at DePaul's McGrath-Phillips Arena.

Senior guard Blaire Langlois collected a game-high 20 points and eight rebounds as the Bulldogs beat the Musketeers for the first time in three tries and earned a Sunday quarterfinals showdown with top seed DePaul.

No. 9 Butler (10-20) went ahead for good on freshman Tori Schickel's layup with 1:32 left in regulation. No. 8 seed Xavier (17-13) lost a chance to go ahead when it gave up possession on a shot clock violation with 59 seconds left and Briana Glover then missed a layup with nine seconds showing.

Langlois scored a game-high 11 first half points and launched a late 11-2 run with a jumper and 3-pointer as the Bulldogs moved to a 24-15 halftime lead. The Musketeers were plagued by 6-for-29 (20.7 percent) shooting from the field. Shooting improved in the third quarter as Xavier sprinted past Butler en route to a 36-33 lead entering the final 10 minutes.

Bulldog Bits
- Butler will play as the away team Sunday as the No. 9 seed in the tournament
- The Bulldogs are 1-2 all-time in the BIG EAST Tournament
- Blaire Langlois scored a game-high 20 points vs. Xavier in the first round
- Butler limited Xavier to just 28% shooting from the field and just 15 1st half pts
- Belle Obert has more blocked shots this season than the entire DePaul roster
- Obert moved to 2nd all-time at Butler for most blocks in a single-season (91)
- Butler leads the BIG EAST Conference in blocked shots per game (5.7)
- Blaire Langlois has made more 3-point FG's than any other BIG EAST player (76)
- Langlois ranks 3rd all-time at BU for most made 3-point FG's in a single-season

Belle with the Block
Belle Obert has recorded 159 blocks in just two seasons with the women's basketball team. She came up with 68 rejections as a junior and upped her production as a senior with 91 rejections. Obert currently ranks second at Butler for most blocks recorded in a single-season. 

Langlois Eyes Single-Season 3-Point Record
Blaire Langlois leads the team and the BIG EAST Conference with 76 made 3-point field goals. She currently sits in third place all-time, after finishing her junior year in fifth with 66 makes from behind the arc. The school record is held by Jackie Closser, an exceptional player that reached the top ten list in three of her four seasons as a Bulldog. Closser's best season came in 2006-07 when she made 85 3-pointers.

Steady as She Goes
Sophomore Sydney Buck has started in every game during her Butler career. The shooting guard is projected to be part of the starting five once again on Sunday, which will move her consecutive starting streak to 61 games. The sharpshooter not only starts, but she logs heavy minutes on the court as well. Heading into Sunday, Buck has logged 1,877 minutes during her two-year career. Looking ahead, if you double that total it would put her at 3,754, the highest total in Butler women's basketball history. The all-time career record holder for minutes played at Butler is currently held by Jackie Closser (3,751).

March Madness
Butler came up with their first-ever win in the BIG EAST Tournament on Saturday afternoon with a 48-47 victory against the Xavier Musketeers. The Bulldogs recorded the upset by knocking off the No. 8 seed in the first round of competition. 

The Bulldogs played as the No. 6 seed in 2013-14, but were defeated 61-52 by the No. 3 seed Creighton Bluejays. In 2014-15, Butler returned to the tournament as a No. 6 seed this time to face No. 3 Villanova. The Wildcats came out on top 70-49.

Freshmen Firepower
Butler has five true freshmen and a redshirt freshman on the roster. That group has combined to score 894 points. The trio of Langlois, Obert and Buck has totaled 865.

Career Record Book Watch List
Blaire Langlois and Belle Obert have etched their names into the Butler women's basketball career record book. Langlois has made 175 3-point field goals in her career moving her to 3rd place all-time. Her name can also be found in 4th place in 3-point field goal attempts (552). Obert reaching the top ten list in career blocked shots in amazing when you take into consideration that she has only played in 54 games during her two-year career. The defensive specialist has 159 blocked shots to her credit, a total that places her 3rd all-time.

NCAA Rankings
As a team, BU ranks 9th in the NCAA in blocked shots (171). Individually, Belle Obert ranks 10th in blocked shots (91) and Blaire Langlois ranks 25th with 76 made 3-point field goals.

Triple Double
Belle Obert recorded a triple-double in the win over TCU with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocked shots. She became just the second player in BIG EAST history to pick up a triple-double in points, rebounds and blocks and also the second player in Butler women's basketball history joining Kelly Kuhn (00-01) who recorded 20 points, 18 rebounds and 10 blocked shots vs. Brown on Dec. 3, 2000.

Follow the Bulldogs on Twitter
Bulldog fans can follow the team throughout the season on Twitter @ButlerWBB. Additional information can be found by visiting the website at ButlerSports.com

Up Next
If Butler upsets No. 1 seed DePaul on Sunday night they will face the winner of the St. John's, Georgetown matchup. The Red Storm is the No. 4 seed and the Hoyas are the No. 5 seed. Tip is set for 6:30 on Monday, March 7.

2016 BIG EAST Tournament
Presented by the Jeep Brand
All games played at McGrath-Phillips Arena - Chicago, Ill.
All times local – Central Standard  

First Round – March 5
G1: No. 7 Creighton def. No. 10 Providence
G2: No. 9 Butler def. No. 8 Xavier

Quarterfinals – March 6
G3: No. 2 Villanova vs. No. 7 Creighton, Noon (FS2)
G4: No. 3 Seton Hall vs. No. 6 Marquette, 2:30 p.m. (FS2)
G5: No. 1 DePaul vs. No. 9 Butler, 6 p.m. (FS2)
G6: No. 4 St. John's vs. No. 5 Georgetown, 8:30 p.m. (FS2)

Semifinals – March 7
G7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 3 p.m. (FS1)
G8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 5:30 p.m. (FS1)

Final – March 8
G9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 7 p.m. (FS1)