INDIANAPOLIS – Butler's final non-conference game of the season will be played on Thursday afternoon at 4 PM. BIG EAST play will then unfold on Saturday, March 18. The Bulldogs will host Central Michigan on Thursday while the Georgetown Hoyas visit Indianapolis on Saturday.
 
BIG EAST Standings
1) Temple 7-1
2) Denver 6-1
3) Florida 6-1
4) Vanderbilt 3-2
5) UConn 3-4
6) Cincinnati 2-4
7) Georgetown 2-5
8) Marquette 2-5
9) Villanova 1-5
10) Butler 1-6
 
About Butler
The Bulldogs posted their first win in program history on March 8 with a 16-13 win at Gardner-Webb. Haley Hallenbeck paced the offense with five goals against the Runnin' Bulldogs. She currently leads the team with 19 goals on the season.
 
Hallenbeck is a complete player that also leads the team in ground balls (17), draw controls (21) and caused turnovers (10). Other top scoring options for BU include Madison Christian who has 12 goals on the year and Journey Fischbeck who has 11 goals and a team-high nine assists for 20 points.
 
Defensively, Butler has split time at the goalie position between Allie Storke and Haley Rayburn. Storke was in goal for Butler's win to move her record to 1-3 on the year. She has played in six games and has allowed 69 goals to give her a 15.65 goals against average. Rayburn has allowed 46 goals over four games.
 
Scouting Central Michigan
The Chippewas are 2-4 on the year after picking up a win over Gardner-Webb on Wednesday night 18-6. Their other win this season came in the opener at Saint Francis, 20-10.
 
Riley Huda orchestrates the action offensively with a team-high 11 assists. Her top options to score goals are Shannon Doyle and Jocelyne Lemay. Doyle leads the team with 13 goals in six games, Lemay is second with 11 goals.
 
Goalie responsibilities have been split between Hope Murray and Dominique Hamman. Hamman was in goal for each win this season. She holds a 13.82 goals against average and has made 42 stops on the year.
 
Scouting Georgetown
The Hoyas are 2-5 overall heading into the weekend, but four of their five losses came against nationally-ranked opponents. The season got underway with a 10-9 loss at Delaware but Georgetown responded by defeating George Washington 16-5 in game two. The toughest stretch of the season would follow with Georgetown falling to #2 Maryland, #17 Towson and #18 John Hopkins in overtime 11-10. They snapped that losing streak with an 11-6 win at home over George Mason, but most recently took a 14-6 loss at #12 Penn on March 11.
 
Francesca Whitehurt leads the team with 19 points off 10 goals and a team-high nine assists. The top goal scorer is Georgia Tunney, a seven-game starter that has 14 goals and three assists. Taylor Gebhardt is only one goal shy of the team lead and has four assists for 17 points.
 
Butler will also need to keep an eye on Jenny Schwalje, a top defender on the Hoya roster. Schwalje has 13 ground balls and a team-high 13 caused turnovers. The Georgetown goalie with the most experience is Maddy Fisher. She is 2-4 on the year with a 13.17 goals-against average.
 
Team National Rankings
Draw Controls Per Game – 66th (11.57)
 
Individual National Rankings
Haley Hallenbeck: Goals – 53rd (19)
Journey Fischbeck: Assists – 62nd (9)
Allie Storke: Saves – 65th (44)
 
Up Next
The Bulldogs will return to action on Saturday, March 25 with an away game at Vanderbilt. The BIG EAST foes will take the field at 1 PM.