GAME NOTES
 
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INDIANAPOLIS – Butler will play a pair of road games this week with tilts against Ball State and Illinois State. The Bulldogs will play the Cardinals on Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 7 PM. Sunday's 3 PM tip at Doug Collins Court will stream on ESPN 3.
 
Bulldog Bits
- Tori Schickel was named to the Paradise Jam All-Tournament Team
- Schickel averaged 16.8 points and 12.5 rebounds per game last week
- Whitney Jennings averaged 20.0 ppg last week shooting 45 percent from the field
- Butler played four games in just six days over Thanksgiving break (11/20-11/25)
- Jennings and Schickel scored all 17 points for BU in the first quarter at #17 USF
- Butler led #11 West Virginia 66-65 with 2:00 left in the fourth quarter
- Kristen Spolyar hit a game-winning 3-point shot at the buzzer to help BU beat Virginia Tech
- Jennings scored 28 points in the loss to Drexel; 12 of her 28 came in the 2nd quarter
- Schickel has scored in double figures in all seven games for Butler; she has 4 double-doubles
- Jennings has scored 20 points in four of BU's seven games, her season-high is 30 points
 
Scouting Ball State
The Cardinals are undefeated five games into the 2017-18 season. Preseason All-Conference selection Moriah Monaco leads a Ball State offense that scores 80 points per game. Monaco is scoring 17.6 points per game, shooting 40 percent from the field. Destiny Washington leads the club in rebounds and Carmen Grande is the floor general with a team-high 48 assists. Ball State posted wins over Cleveland State, Missouri State, Lipscomb, Vanderbilt and Tennessee State. They are 2-0 at home and 3-0 on the road.
 
Scouting Illinois State
The Redbirds are off to a 2-2 start to the 2017-18 season with each victory coming on Doug Collins Court. First-year head coach Kristen Gillespie returns four players that started a majority of the team's games a year ago in senior Hannah Green, juniors Katrina Beck and Viria Livingston, and sophomore Megan Talbot. Beck and Livingston have started in all four games and are averaging 34 minutes of playing time. Beck averages 4.5 points and four rebounds per game. Livingston posts similar numbers with 6.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest. Green and Talbot each average 10 points per game. The team leader in that category is Simone Goods, a junior forward who scores 15 a game.
 
Change of Pace
The opposition this week may share a similar mascot name, but they play totally different types of basketball. The Cardinals are scoring 80 points per game and have five players scoring in double figures. They share the ball very well and average 19 assists per contest. The Redbirds are averaging 48.2 points per game and were limited to just 37 points in a loss at George Mason. Ball State shoots 37 percent from 3-point range, making 45 of their 120 attempts. Illinois State is shooting just 16 percent from behind the arc. Eight triples have gone down for ISU in 50 attempts.
 
Schickel Lands On BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
A busy week for the Bulldogs against tough competition saw Schickel average 16.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and .519 shooting, including a 27-point, 15-rebound outing in a win over NR/RV Virginia Tech on Friday. She totaled three double-doubles and was one rebound shy of a fourth against No. 11/13 West Virginia.
 
Own the Glass
Butler leads the BIG EAST Conference in rebound margin ( 5.7). They are 3-1 on the year when they outrebound the opposition and 1-0 when they end the game tied in the rebound column. Tori Schickel has led the team in rebounding in 39-straight games. She broke the Butler school record for most rebounds recorded in a single-season last year with 364.
 
One-Two Punch
Tori Schickel and Whitney Jennings account 53 percent of Butler's scoring over the first seven games of the regular season. Jennings ranks third in the BIG EAST with a 19.7 scoring average. Schickel ranks fifth in the league by averaging 17.9 points per contest.
 
Charity Stripe
Butler has the second-best free throw percentage in the BIG EAST Conference. The Bulldogs have hit 93 of their 120 free throw attempts (.775) with four of the five starters being responsible for 73 of the 93 makes. Tori Schickel has made the most free throws on the team (29) and Kristen Spolyar has the best percentage (85.7).
 
All-Time Great
Tori Schickel has 638 rebounds in her Butler career, a total she has recorded in 60 games played. She is just 19 rebounds away from joining the BU Top-Ten List in career rebounds. Schickel is on pace to become the top rebounder in Butler women's basketball history.
 
1,000 Point Watch
Junior Tori Schickel heads into the month of December with 838 career points. She is on pace to become just the 22nd player in Butler women's basketball history to reach 1,000.
 
Protect The Rim
Tori Schickel ranks 10th all-time at Butler in career blocks. She leads the team with nine on the year, moving her career total to 89.
 
Buck For Three
Sydney Buck has hit 172 3-point field goals during her Butler career, a total that ranks her fourth all-time. The senior is now six three-point field goals away from third place all-time. That spot is currently held by Blaire Langlois (177), Buck's teammate from 2014-16.
 
Weaver With The Steal
Michelle Weaver has recorded a steal in four-straight games. She's one of three players on the roster to have 10 or more steals on the season, joining Schickel (14) and Jennings (11). Half of Weaver's steal total (5) came in the game vs. #11 West Virginia.
 
Take Care of The Ball
Whitney Jennings played 37 minutes in the win over Virginia Tech. She ended the game with a season-high seven assists and zero turnovers.
 
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.
 
Bring It Back
Butler brought 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. Schickel grabbed 10 rebounds or more in 19 games during the 2016-17 season. She led BU in rebounding in every single game.
 
Follow Butler on Social Media
Updates on the Butler women's basketball team will be available on Twitter throughout the season. Follow the team @ButlerUWBB.
 
Up Next
Butler will return to Hinkle Fieldhouse on Friday, Dec. 8 when they host the Wisconsin Badgers at 7 PM.