GAME NOTES
INDIANAPOLIS – The 2018-19 regular season will come to a close this weekend with Butler hosting Georgetown and Villanova. The Friday night tip against the Hoyas will stream on BEDN and feature a 7 PM start. Sunday's contest against Villanova will be Senior Day for
Taylor Buford,
Michelle Weaver,
Whitney Jennings and
Tori Schickel. The game will start at 2 PM with the Senior Day ceremony to follow post-game.
Bulldog Bits
- BU clinched a first round bye in the BIG EAST Tournament; one more win locks in #3 seed
- The Bulldogs pulled off one of the biggest wins in program history at #11 Marquette
- BU won the fourth quarter at Marquette 18-8 to pull out a 61-57 victory
- Butler's last win over a ranked opponent was at #21 Villanova on Jan. 2, 2018
- BU dished out 19 assists on 24 made field goals at Marquette... Shot 42% overall
-
Kristen Spolyar dished out a career-high six assists in the win at the Al McGuire Center
- Butler reached 20 wins for the first time since 2010-11 (Finished 20-14 overall)
- White, Adomako and Venson combined for 77 of Georgetown's 82 points vs. St. John's
- Butler has never swept the regular season series against Villanova
- Butler won a program-best 10 BIG EAST games in 2013-14 and again in 2014-15
2018-19 BIG EAST STANDINGS
#1 Marquette 14-2, 23-5
#2 DePaul 12-4, 21-7
#3 Butler 10-6, 20-7
#4 Villanova 8-8, 17-10
#5 Providence 8-8, 16-12
#6 Creighton 7-9, 13-14
#7 Georgetown 7-9, 13-14
#8 St. John's 7-10, 14-14
#9 Seton Hall 6-11, 14-14
#10 Xavier 2-14, 11-16
Scouting Georgetown
The Hoyas head into the final weekend of the regular season with a 13-14 overall record that includes a 7-9 mark against league foes. Georgetown picked up two nice wins last weekend over Seton Hall (51-43) and St. John's (82-80) to move up to seventh in the conference standings. Dorothy Adomako and Dionna White are the two players to keep an eye on. Adomako leads the team in both points (16.0) and rebounds (7.8). White was crowned Defensive Player of the Year in the BIG EAST one year ago and ranks second on the team in scoring (15.5 ppg). The Hoyas are an athletic group that rank first in the BIG EAST in blocked shots (4.6) and second to Butler in scoring defense (60.4).
Butler at Georgetown Recap
The final of eight lead changes was in the Bulldogs' hands as they improved to 2-0 in BIG EAST play for the first time since joining the league. Leading by four heading into the final quarter, Butler held the host Hoyas to just six points over the final 10 minutes to seal the win.
Whitney Jennings posted a game-high 23 points to lead Butler, while Dionna White scored 11 and added six boards and four steals.
Scouting Villanova
Villanova is a quality opponent with a 17-10 overall record. They currently sit in fourth place of the BIG EAST standings with an 8-8 mark against conference foes. The Wildcats split a pair of games last weekend, posting a 73-68 win over Seton Hall, but falling 66-62 to St. John's. Jannah Tucker and Mary Gedaka led the 'Cats to victory over Seton Hall. Tucker led all players with 17 points. She hit five 3-pointers and added two rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals to her stat line. Gedaka was in the box score with a double-double by pulling down 10 rebounds to go along with her 15 points. Kelly Jekot and Adrianna Hahn are two other players to watch out for. Jekot averages 13.8 points per game and Hahn is close behind at 12.1. Hahn led Villanova in the first meeting against Butler with 16 points, six assists and five steals. Four of the five starters ended the game in double figures.
Butler at Villanova Recap
Tori Schickel scored a game-high 22 points off 10-of-15 shooting to lead Butler over Villanova at Finneran Pavilion. Butler jumped out to a 21-11 first-quarter lead before the Wildcats clamped down in the second frame to hold BU to just seven points to take a two-point lead into halftime. VU led by as many as 11 in the third quarter before Butler used a 10-0 run to close the frame. The fourth belonged to the Bulldogs, outscoring Villanova 20-8 to pick up the league opener.
Schickel Lands On BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Schickel led Butler to their biggest win in recent memory, knocking off No. 11/11 Marquette in Milwaukee. The senior tallied 19 points, seven rebounds and three steals in the win, while averaging 16.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 50-percent shooting in the road swing.
Butler Knocks Off #11 Marquette
The Bulldogs clinched a BIG EAST Tournament First Round bye for the first time since 2015, following its 10th league win of the year. Butler forced No. 11/11 Marquette into an uncharacteristic low-shooting night (.323). MU took its largest lead of the game (8) with 8:53 left in the fourth, but Butler responded with an 11-0 run to take the lead with 5:16 to play. Tied with 46 seconds remaining,
Tori Schickel scored a layup which gave Butler the lead before
Whitney Jennings provided insurance free-throws.
Tournament Talk
Marquette defeated Xavier to lock up the No. 1 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament. The Blue Demons locked up the No. 2 seed by claiming the season sweep of Butler with Sunday's 76-62 win over the Bulldogs. Butler will clinch the No. 3 seed with one more win or single losses by Providence and Villanova next weekend. Butler's highest seed in BIG EAST Tournament history is No. 6 (2015, 2014). With Xavier locked in as the No. 10 seed, seven seeds remain up for grabs heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
20 Wins
The 2018-19 Bulldogs are just the 11th team in program history to notch 20 wins in a single-season. 20 wins are the highest total under head coach
Kurt Godlevske.
Recipe for Success
Butler leads the BIG EAST in scoring defense (57.2), field goal pct defense (.361), steals (306), steals per game (11.3) and turnovers forced (19.3).
Michelle Making Plays
Michelle Weaver has placed her name into the Butler record book in two separate categories this season. The senior leads the team, the BIG EAST and ranks sixth in the NCAA in steals (94) moving her career total to 213. She ranks fifth all-time at Butler in total steals and seventh in steals recorded in a single-season. Weaver also leads the team in assists with 124. She ranks eighth all-time at BU with 324 career assists.
Schickel Sets All-Time Rebound Record at Seton Hall
Tori Schickel broke the Butler women's basketball all-time rebound record at Seton Hall (Feb. 3) by pulling down a team-high 10 rebounds. That performance moved her career total to 1,052, giving her two more rebounds than Elza Purvlicis (1980-84). The all-time great now has 1,100 rebounds in her career.
Most Minutes
Tori Schickel has logged 3,742 minutes of playing time in her Bulldog a career, a total that ranks her second all-time in school history. She is just nine minutes shy of Jackie Closser's school record (3,751 / 2004-07).
Rim Protector
Tori Schickel ranks second all-time at Butler in career blocked shots with 166.
Schickel Ranks Third On All-Time Scoring List
Tori Schickel ranks third all-time on the Butler women's basketball scoring list (1,581). Lade Akande ranks second all-time with 1,705 points and topping the list is former BU assistant coach Julie Shelton (VonDielingen) with 2,018 points.
Up Next
The 2019 BIG EAST Women's Basketball Tournament will be played at Wintrust Arena. The first round opens on Saturday, March 9 with the quarterfinals to follow on March 10. Semifinals will air on FS1 on March 11 with the championship set for March 12 at 7 PM.
