INDIANAPOLIS – The Bulldogs are 1-0 after the first game of the regular season after notching a 75-54 win over the Austin Peay Governors on Saturday night.
Whitney Jennings was terrific in her Butler debut with a game-high 30 points on 11-of-21 shooting.
Jennings ended the contest with 30 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals. She went 4-for-8 from distance and knocked down all four of her free throw attempts.
The Bulldogs also got a lift in the scoring column from
Tori Schickel and
Michelle Weaver. Schickel was in the box score with 14 points, six rebounds and a team-high five steals. Weaver posted 11 points with seven of those 11 coming from the charity stripe. She put together a nice all-around game with four rebounds and three assists.
Butler outscored Austin Peay in three of the four quarters in the season opener with the two teams tying 14-14 in the third. A 6-0 scoring run in the first quarter would give BU a 13-8 lead and that advantage would hold over the opening 10 minutes.
BU won the second quarter 19-12 to take an 11-point edge into the break, but the Governors stuck around in the third to keep the game interesting. Any chance of a comeback for the visitors would be eliminated in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. Butler went on a 13-0 scoring run and would hold Austin Peay to just three points over the first five minutes of the fourth. BU outscored Austin Peay 25-15 over the final 10 minutes of action.
High shooting percentages across the board helped BU end the night 1-0. The 'Dawgs shot 49 percent from the field (25-51) and 80 percent from the charity stripe (21-26). They caused 25 turnovers and won the rebound battle 38-23.
BU will look to take this momentum into their next game which will be at Murray State on Wednesday, Nov. 15. The Bulldogs and Racers will tip-off at 12 PM.
