GAME NOTES
 
LIVE STATS | WATCH
 
INDIANAPOLIS – The 2017-18 Butler women's basketball season is here! The Bulldogs will host Austin Peay Saturday night at 7 PM. These two programs haven't shared the court since the 2004-05 season when BU posted a 69-52 win. That victory gave BU the upper hand in the all-time series 2-1.
 
Bulldog Bits
- Coach Godlevske named Tori Schickel and Whitney Jennings team captains
- Tori Schickel broke the single-season rebound record during the 2016-17 season (364)
- Schickel averaged a double-double last year (14.7 pts and 11.7 rebs per game)
- BU returns nine letter-winners to return 95 pct of their scoring from last year
- Sydney Buck ranks 5th all-time at Butler with 169 made 3-point field goals
- Butler has five former Indiana All-Stars on the 2016-17 roster
- Butler is 1-2 in season openers under the guidance of Kurt Godlevske
- Godlevske has an entire new coaching staff... Marcum, McCleary, and Henry
- Kristen Spolyar erupted for 25 pts in her collegiate debut in last year's season opener
 
No Sophomore Slump for Schickel
Tori Schickel became just the second player under the direction of head coach Kurt Godlevske to average a double-double for an entire season. IJ Uchendu was the first during the 2014-15 campaign. Uchendu averaged 14.6 points, the exact same as Schickel last year, and 10.3 rebounds per game in her senior season. Schickel also became the first Bulldog since the 2012-13 season to lead Butler in both points and rebounds during the same season. The last player to achieve that feat was current Director of Basketball Operations Daress McClung. She averaged 16.4 pts and 9.0 rebs during her junior year.
 
Rebound Record Belongs to Schickel
Tori Schickel pulled down 364 rebounds a year ago to break the Butler single-season school record. She led Butler in rebounding in all 31 games, pulling down 125 on the offensive glass and 239 on defense. Schickel grabbed 10 rebounds or more in 19 games during the 2016-17 season. Her season-high of 20 rebounds was recorded twice, once at Xavier (1/8) and the next time at home against Villanova (1/20).
 
Who's In, Who's Out?
Butler returns nine letter-winners from last year's team including four of five starters. That group will mesh with Whitney Jennings and Iman Lathan who will each be eligible for competition in 2017-18. Jennings joined the team last year after transferring from Iowa and Lathan is a fifth-year graduate student that will join the Bulldogs after spending the last two seasons at Cal State Fullerton. Alisha Aube will also fight for playing time as the lone true freshman on the roster. Naira Caceres (Maine), Katherine Strong (VCU), and Ashanti Thomas (Penn State) will all sit out the 2017-18 season due to the NCAA transfer rule.
 
Bring It Back
Butler will bring back nine of the ten players on the 2016-17 roster. Nine returning letter-winners allows Butler to bring back 95 percent of their scoring. As far as just playing time, 87 percent of the minutes played last season were from student-athletes who are still on the roster this season. The return of Tori Schickel helps BU return 93 percent of its rebounding from 2016-17 and with sharpshooters Sydney Buck and Sydney Shelton both returning, Butler will bring back nearly 96 percent of their made threes from the 2016-17 season. Buck and Shelton accounted for 91 of Butler's 156 made 3-point field goals (58%).
 
Follow Butler On Social Media                                                                  
The Bulldogs are on Twitter, Snapchat (@ButlerUWBB) and Facebook (/ButlerBulldogs).
 
Jennings Joins the Bulldogs
Point guard Whitney Jennings will look to impact the team this season after sitting out all of last year due to the NCAA transfer rule. In two years at Iowa, Jennings played in 67 games, earning 62 starts. She scored the third-most 3-pointers (36), dished out the fourth-most assists (92), recorded the fourth-most steals (35), and scored the 11th-most points (308) of all freshmen in Iowa basketball history. She followed up her freshman campaign by averaging 9.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game as a sophomore.
 
Lathan Brings Leadership
Iman Lathan joins Butler this year as a graduate transfer. She will join seniors Sydney Buck and Kaela Hodges in a leadership role. Lathan led Cal State Fullerton in scoring last year (15.3). She also pulled down 6.3 rebounds per contest.
 
Weaver Will Step Up
Junior guard Michelle Weaver will look to pick up where she left off at the end of last season. Her jumper from the elbow with just seven seconds remaining in the opening round of the BIG EAST Tournament last year lifted Butler to a two-point win over Xavier. Weaver made a huge jump overall from her freshman to sophomore season. She upped her scoring average to 10.2 points per game compared to just 4.6 from the previous year and dished out twice as many assists. On the other side of the ball, Weaver came up with a team-high 50 steals after only recording 12 steals during her freshman campaign.
 
Buck Looks to Bounce Back
Sydney Buck was limited to playing in just 19 games during her junior season due to injury. The talented shooting guard had started in every game of her BU career during her first two years on campus. Heading into her senior year, Buck is healthy and in range of moving into the top two at Butler in career 3-point field goals made. Through 80 games, Buck currently ranks fifth in school history with 169 makes from 3-point range. The school record is 271. Second place belongs to Ellen Hamilton (2204-07) who hit 227 3-pointers.
 
1,000 Point Watch
Junior Tori Schickel enters the 2017-18 season with 713 career points after posting 454 points during her sophomore season. Schickel is on pace to become just the 22nd player in Butler women's basketball history to reach 1,000 career points.
 
Rewrite the Record Book
Tori Schickel can work her way into the Butler record book in multiple ways this season. In terms of career stats, Schickel needs 100 rebounds, 97 made free throws and just two blocked shots to place her name in the all-time top ten list. She already ranks first at Butler for most rebounds recorded in a single-season (364) and highest rebounding avg (14.6). She ranks fourth (1,098) for minutes played in a single-season and eighth (159) for most free throws attempted. Tori also pulled down 22 rebounds in a game against Valparaiso her freshman season, the third-highest rebound total ever recorded in a single-game.
 
Indiana All-Stars
The 2017-18 Butler women's basketball roster features five former Indiana All-Stars! Whitney Jennings, Sydney Buck (2014), Tori Schickel (2015), Sydney Shelton and Kristen Spolyar (2016) all earned the honor after stellar high school careers.
 
Up Next
Butler's first road test will take the team to Murray State on Wednesday, Nov. 15. The 'Dawgs will return home that weekend with a 7 PM game vs. Lipscomb on Nov. 17.