GAME NOTES
 
WATCH ON ESPN 3 | LIVE STATS
 
INDIANAPOLIS – Butler's final non-conference game of the season will be played on Thursday afternoon at Indiana State. The Bulldogs and Sycamores will meet at the Hulman Center for a 2 PM tip-off. The contest will stream on ESPN 3.
 
Bulldog Bits
- The Bulldogs have won three-straight games and are undefeated in December
- Whitney Jennings scored a game-high 23 points in the win over Loyola (Dec. 18)
- Tori Schickel led BU in rebounds (11), assists, (4) and blocks (3) vs. the Ramblers
- Butler hit 14 of their 15 free throw attempts on Monday night to notch a 12-point win
- Butler leads the BIG EAST Conference in rebound margin (+4.7)
- BU ranks second in the BIG EAST with a 79.5 free throw percentage (147-185)
- Tori Schickel leads the BIG EAST and ranks 14th in the NCAA in total rebounds (123)
- Whitney Jennings is the second highest scorer in the BIG EAST at 18.9 ppg
- Jennings has 21 assists and just 7 turnovers over Butler's last six games
- Jennings hasn't missed a free throw since Nov. 24 vs. Virginia Tech (16-16)
 
Scouting Indiana State
Indiana State lost to Miami Ohio on Tuesday night 68-56. The outcome moved their overall record to 2-8. Wendi Bibbins led the Sycamores with 21 points and seven rebounds in a losing effort. Bibbins is currently the team leader in points per game, scoring 11.4 per contest. The only other Sycamore to reach double figures was guard Ashli O'Neal. The 5-5 sophomore shot 4-of-9 from the field to net 11 points. As a team, Indiana State averages 60 points per game. They got off to a great start on Tuesday to win the opening quarter against Miami Ohio 17-10, but were ultimately defeated after being outscored 21-9 in the fourth quarter. Bibbins is a force for ISU on the inside as she also leads the team in rebounds (8.6). The team's top 3-point threat is O'Neal. She is also tied for the team lead in assists.
 
RPI Ranking
Butler climbed up two spots in the RPI Poll this week and now sit at 53rd with a 7-4 overall record. The BIG EAST is well represented in the Top 50 of the RPI with Villanova coming in at 4, St. John's at 15, Marquette at 38, and Creighton at 49.
 
Own the Glass
Tori Schickel has led the team in rebounding in 43-straight games. She broke the Butler school record for most rebounds recorded in a single-season last year with 364.
 
Let's Go
Butler scored the first nine points of the game in the win over Loyola. This impressive feat came 10 days after the Bulldogs opened up the Wisconsin game on an 11-0 scoring run. Butler's largest scoring spree to start a game came at Murray State. The Bulldogs scored 14-straight points to post a 29-point victory.
 
Best in the BIG EAST
Whitney Jennings has made more field goals (74) than any other player in the BIG EAST heading into Thursday. Teammate Tori Schickel has made the most free throws (41) of any player in the league. The BU duo rank one-two in total minutes played this season.
 
A Year Ago
Butler raced out to a 23-7 lead after the first quarter last year vs. Indiana State to record a 66-48 victory. Tori Schickel led all players with 16 points. Schickel was one of four Bulldogs to reach double figures in scoring, joining Kristen Spolyar (14), Taylor Buford (12) and Sydney Shelton (10). BU dished out 17 assists on 24 made field goals.
 
Make It Count
Butler shoots 42 percent from the field. Tori Schickel leads the club connecting on 50% of her attempts (66-132). Every member of the starting five is shooting over 40% for the season and Kristen Spolyar joins that group as the first player off the bench. She is shooting 40.8% from the field and 41.9% from 3-point range.
 
All-Time Series
Butler and Indiana State are separated by one game in the all-time series 14-13. BU took the slim advantage over Indiana State a year ago by defeating the Sycamores 66-48 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Indiana State won the previous meeting at their place, 70-63 in overtime. These two programs are familiar with each other having faced off in each of the last 10 seasons. The first-ever meeting happened during the 1982-83 campaign. BU won 58-48.
 
One-Two Punch
Tori Schickel and Whitney Jennings have accounted for 50% of Butler's scoring over the first 11 games of the season. Jennings ranks second in the BIG EAST with an 18.9 scoring average. Schickel ranks seventh in the league by averaging 15.7 points per contest.
 
Heating Up
Kristen Spolyar is the first person off the bench for BU. She has reached double figure in scoring in eight of Butler's 11 games this year, including each of the last four games.
 
W3aver
Michelle Weaver has hit seven of her 10 3-point field goals this year over Butler's last three games. Speaking of three, Weaver has grabbed three rebounds in seven-straight games.
 
All-Time Great
Tori Schickel has 680 rebounds in her Butler career. She currently ranks ninth all-time at Butler in career rebounds and is now just four rebounds away from eighth place. Schickel is on pace to become the top rebounder in Butler women's basketball history.
 
1,000 Point Watch
Junior Tori Schickel has 886 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 15 on the year, moving her career total to 95.
 
Up Next
Butler will open BIG EAST play by hosting Xavier on FS2. The conference foes will meet on Friday, Dec. 29 for a 7 PM tip-off.