GAME NOTES

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Butler will play two games in the 2019 West Palm Beach Invitational with the first falling on Thursday, Dec. 20 against Ohio State and game two coming against Eastern Michigan the day after. Thursday will mark the first-ever meeting between Butler and Ohio State.
 
Bulldog Bits                                                                                                                       
- Butler dished out 18 assists on 24 made field goals vs. Indiana State
- The Bulldogs outscored Indiana State 24-12 in the second quarter
- Naira Caceres scored a career-high 14 points in the win (9 in the first quarter)
- Tori Schickel blocked a career-high seven shots vs. the Sycamores
- Michelle Weaver came up with a season-high six steals in the win on Monday
- Shae Brey posted season-high totals in minutes (24) assists (3) and blocks (2)
- BU leads the BIG EAST and ranks 6th in the NCAA in scoring defense (50.4 ppg)
- Butler ranks 15th in the NCAA in turnovers forced (23.2)
- The Bulldogs lead the BIG EAST and rank 23rd in the NCAA in rebound margin (+9.6)
- Butler went 1-2 last year in the 2018 Paradise Jam (def. Virginia Tech 79-77)
 
BIG EAST Standings
Butler 8-1           
Marquette 9-2  
Villanova 8-2     
Seton Hall 7-2
Xavier 7-2
DePaul 8-3
St. John's 7-3
Providence 5-4 
Georgetown 5-5
Creighton 4-5
 
Scouting Ohio State                                                                                       
Ohio State is 4-3 this year with wins over Detroit Mercy, North Carolina, Cincinnati, and most recently Florida. Two of their three losses in 2018 have come against nationally-ranked opponents. The Buckeyes fell to No. 22 South Florida in the season opener and dropped a game at No. 2 UConn on Nov. 11. Their only other setback came at Washington, 69-59. The battle-tested Buckeyes are led by Korka Juhasz. The 6-4 freshman from Pecs, Hungary averages 11.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest, leading Ohio State in each category. Juhasz is joined in the starting lineup by three graduate transfers. Carly Santoro attended Bowling Green last year, Carmen Grande came over from Ball State, and Adreana Miller joined the program after playing for LaSalle. Ohio State averages 57.9 points per game. Shooting percentages across the board are low with the Buckeyes hitting just 21 percent of their 3-point field goal attempts and 59 percent from the charity stripe.
 
Scouting Eastern Michigan                                                                         
Eastern Michigan will face UNC Greensboro on Thursday before facing off against the Bulldogs on Friday afternoon. The 6-2 Eagles are putting up 63.4 points per game this year and are led in the scoring column by sophomore guard Courtnie Lewis. The 5-10 shooter is averaging 14.4 points per game. She leads the team with 23 makes from 3-point range. Corrione Cardwell is another talented guard that has reached a double figure scoring total in six games this season. Inside, Eastern Michigan relies on Lorraine Enabulele for six points and six rebounds per game. Danielle Minott shares the rebound lead with Enabulele and ranks third on the team with a 12.9 scoring average.
 
Keys To the Game                                                                                                          
Getting off to a good start will be important for BU during the 2019 West Palm Beach Invite. The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 156-92 in the first quarter this year. Ohio State has been outscored over the opening 10 minutes 127-99.
 
West Palm Beach Invitational                                                                   
The 2019 West Palm Beach Invitational features 11 teams playing at least two games overall three-day span. Butler, Dakota Wesleyan, Dayton, Eastern Michigan, Georgia Tech, Keiser, Ohio State, Seton Hall, St. Francis, UNC-Greensboro and Virginia Tech will all participate in the tournament. Tickets for adults will be $10, students can enter for $5 and all children 10 and under get in free of charge.
 
Turn The Corner                                                                                                              
Butler has reached eight non-conference wins in each of the last two seasons. The Bulldogs have not finished the non-conference season above .500 in back-to-back seasons since 1997-98 / 1998-99.
 
Day Dreaming                                                                                                  
Six of Butler's nine games have been played during the day this year (2PM or earlier) and the Bulldogs are a perfect 6-0 during those contests. BU is averaging 73 points per game during day games and is outscoring the opposition by 27 points.
 
Double Up                                                                                                                         
Tori Schickel leads the BIG EAST Conference and ranks 13th in the NCAA with six double-doubles. The national lead is a three-way tie at nine double-doubles.
 
I'll Take That                                                                                                                     
The Bulldogs rank third in the NCAA in steals per game (14.4) and 10th in total steals (130). They lead the BIG EAST in each category.
 
Streaks                                                                                                                
Tori Schickel has at least one steal in every game this year and has blocked a shot in six-straight games. Whitney Jennings has hit a 3-pointer in eight-straight games.
 
Weaver Impacting Wins                                                                                              
Michelle Weaver leads the BIG EAST and ranks seventh in the NCAA in steals per game (3.8). The senior guard also ranks 16th in the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.2). Weaver has led the team in assists in eight of Butler's nine games. She also has recorded 2+ steals in every game this season.
 
RPI Update                                                                                                                        
Butler came in at No. 52 in the latest women's basketball RPI poll. The BIG EAST Conference is well represented with Marquette at No. 7, Villanova at No. 34, and DePaul at No. 35.
 
Schickel Climbs Scoring List                                                                        
Tori Schickel reached 1,000 career points on Jan. 10, 2018 against St. John's to become just the 22nd player in Butler women's basketball history to reach 1,000. Schickel now ranks ninth on the all-time scoring list with 1,353 career points. She is 22 points away from eighth place on the list which is currently held by Sue Morris (1,375, '81-'85).
 
Schickel Goes After Rebound Record                                                     
Tori Schickel has 946 rebounds in her Bulldog career, a total that ranks her third all-time. She is now 67 rebounds away from second-place and 54 away from 1,000. Schickel will become just the third player in school history to reach 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her BU career, joining Elza Purvlicis (1980-84) and Beth Piepenbrink (1980-83).
 
Rim Protector                                                                                                   
Tori Schickel blocked seven shots in Butler's 72-49 win over Indiana State. Her new career-high total moved her to fourth place all-time at Butler with 144 career blocks.
 
Up Next                                                                                                                              
Butler start BIG EAST play on Saturday, Dec. 29 with a road game at Villanova. The action can be seen live on FS2 at 8 PM. The final game of 2018 will follow with BU playing at Georgetown on Dec. 31. Tip vs. the Hoyas is slated for 1 PM.