INDIANAPOLIS – Butler improved to 21-8 on the year with a 62-60 overtime win over Villanova on Senior Day. Kristen Spolyar paced the offense with 22 points and senior Whitney Jennings would supply the Bulldogs with 17 points.

Spolyar and Jennings each hit three 3-pointers in the victory over Villanova to help Butler end the regular season on a high note. The Wildcats hit 12 triples on the day highlighted by Kelly Jekot and Adrianna Hahn who combined for nine.
 
Villanova would lead after one by shooting 41 percent from the field. A 9-0 scoring run in the final stages of the second quarter would lead to their 28-24 advantage at the half.
 
BU came charging back to tie the game at 31-31 after a Jennings 3-pointer and the two squads would head into the fourth quarter tied up at 45-45. The final 10 minutes of regulation could not separate the two evenly matched teams.
 
Whitney Jennings nearly won the game at the buzzer for BU on the final possession of the fourth quarter. Jennings drove hard to the paint and would get a shot up and over a defender, but the ball would spin out with just one second on the game clock.
 
Jennings would not be denied in the overtime period as she drove through the lane again to score the first two points of the extra period. Mary Gedaka would answer for Villanova to tie the score at 60-60 with 4:11 to play.
 
The final made field goal of overtime belonged to Michelle Weaver at the 2:20 mark. The Butler defense locked in and kept Nova off the scoreboard. The final Nova possession went to Esposito, but her 3-point look from the right wing rimmed out with just three seconds. Tori Schickel recorded the rebound and Butler would win for the four seniors.
 
The Bulldogs will play as the No. 3 seed in the upcoming BIG EAST Tournament. They will face No. 6 seed Creighton on March 10 at 8:30 PM.
 
2019 BIG EAST Women's Basketball Tournament
First Round – March 9
Game 1: #9 St. John's vs. #8 Seton Hall, 2 p.m. (BEDN)
Game 2: #10 Xavier vs. #7 Providence, 4:30 p.m. (BEDN)
 
Quarterfinals – March 10
Game 3: #1 Marquette vs Game 1 winner, Noon (FS2)
Game 4: #5 Villanova vs. #4 Georgetown, 2:30 p.m. (FS2)
Game 5: #2 DePaul vs. Game 2 winner, 6 p.m. (FS2)
Game 6: #6 Creighton vs. #3 Butler, 8:30 p.m. (FS2)
 
Semifinals – March 11
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 3 p.m. (FS1)
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 5:30 p.m. (FS1)
 
Final – March 12
Game 9: Semifinal winners, 7 p.m. (FS1)