GAME NOTES
 
Live Stats at Murray State
 
Live Stats vs. Lipscomb | Watch Facebook Live
 
INDIANAPOLIS – The Bulldogs will play two games this week beginning with a Wednesday road contest at Murray State. The first true road test of the season will be followed by a home game on Friday, Nov. 17 against Lipscomb.
 
Bulldog Bits
- Whitney Jennings scored 30 points in her Butler debut against Austin Peay
- The Bulldogs shot 49 percent from the field and 80 percent from the charity stripe
- Butler went 21-for-26 from the free throw line; Michelle Weaver led the team (7-10)
- BU forced 25 turnovers in the opener and limited Austin Peay to 1 second chance point
- Coach Godlevske named Tori Schickel and Whitney Jennings team captains
- 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 letterwinners to return 95 pct of their scoring from last year
- Butler was picked to finish eighth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll
- Tori Schickel was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
 
Jennings Shines in her Butler Debut
Whitney Jennings led Butler to victory in the 2017-18 season opener by scoring a game-high 30 points in her BU debut. Jennings became the first Bulldog to score 30-plus points since the 2015 season when Blaire Langlois notched 32 points in a road win at Georgetown. Langlois hit a school record nine 3-point field goals in that contest. Jennings knocked down four shots from distance on her way to dropping 30 points against Austin Peay. She made 11 total field goals and added a team-high four assists, to go along with three rebounds and two steals.
 
Big 3 Battle
Whitney Jennings, Tori Schickel and Michelle Weaver combined for 55 of Butler's 75 points on Saturday night. In similar fashion, Murray State had three players combine for 76 points in their setback at Evansville. Ke'Shunan James scored 30 in the season opener while Bria Bethea was close behind with 28 points. Abria Gulledge added 18 for the Racers.
 
Strong Start
Butler scored 75 points in the win over Austin Peay while limiting the Governors to just 54. This type of performance only happened once during the entire 2016-17 campaign. Butler notched a 21-point win at home over Seton Hall 79-58. It was the only time BU scored over 75 points that season.
 
Scouting Murray State
The Racers lost at Evansville in their season opener 89-81. The Purple Aces jumped out to a 31-14 lead after the first quarter and would enjoy an 18-point lead at the half. Murray State would fight back in the second half behind strong performances by Ke'Shunan James and Bria Bethea, but the early deficit was simply too much to overcome. James and Bethea combined for 58 points and 23 rebounds. Teammate Abria Gulledge would chip in with 18 points and five boards. The rest of the team only managed to score five points.
 
Scouting Lipscomb
Lipscomb played two games over opening weekend, earning one win and taking one loss. The Lady Bison will play their first four games of the regular season on the road. They lost 85-69 at the College of Charleston on Friday night, but recovered with a 58-54 win at Charleston Southern. The Lady Bison will play a game at Ball State on Wednesday before traveling to Indianapolis to face the Bulldogs on Friday. Loren Cagle has been terrific over the first two games of the season. She is currently leading the team in scoring at 18 points per game and doubles as Lipscomb's top rebounder (6.5). The 5-5 senior is shooting 51 percent from the field and is also the team leader in assists (5.5).
 
Defend the Arc
Butler shot 40 percent from 3-point range in the win over Austin Peay by making four of their 10 attempts. Jennings was responsible for all four makes. The opposition however has fallen in love with the 3-point shot early in the season. Murray State took 29 3-point field goals in the opener, making eight to end the game shooting 27 percent from distance. Lipscomb has shot 62 shots over their first two games of the season. They are shooting 25 percent from 3-point range by connecting on 16 from behind the arc.
 
Who's In, Who's Out?
Butler returns nine letterwinners 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. Naira Caceres (Maine), Katherine Strong (VCU), and Ashanti Thomas (Penn State) will all sit out due to the NCAA transfer rule.
 
BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll
The Butler women's basketball team was picked to finish eighth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll. After a vote from the league's head coaches, the Bulldogs accumulated 29 points placing them ahead of Providence (18) and Xavier (10). The top of the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll included Marquette, DePaul and Villanova. The Golden Eagles collected nine of the 10 first place votes to amass 81 points. The final first-place vote went to the Blue Demons who came in second with 73 points. Villanova (61) held off Creighton (58) for third place in the poll. The middle of the pack included Georgetown (43), Seton Hall (40) and St. John's (37).
 
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).
 
Bring It Back
Butler will bring back nine of the ten players on the 2016-17 roster. Nine returning letterwinners 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%).
 
1,000 Point Watch
Junior Tori Schickel enters the second week of the season with 727 career points. She is on pace to become just the 22nd player in Butler women's basketball history to reach 1,000.

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
The Bulldogs will play four games next week beginning with a true road trip at USF to face the Bulls. Butler and USF will play on Monday, Nov. 20 at 7 PM. The team will stay in Florida over Thanksgiving Break to participate in the Paradise Jam Tournament. Butler will play West Virginia, Virginia Tech and Drexel in three consecutive days.