INDIANAPOLIS – Butler won a wild one inside Hinkle Fieldhouse on Friday night to improve to 15-6 on the season. The 'Dawgs swept the regular season series against Xavier with a 63-61 overtime win vs. the Musketeers. With the victory, BU moves to 7-3 against BIG EAST opponents.
Kristen Spolyar scored a game-high 25 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in the win. She was the only Butler player to reach double figures in the scoring column and was responsible for the biggest bucket of the game in overtime.
Xavier led by one with 38 seconds to play after a made jumper by Carrie Gross. With their backs against the wall, Butler dropped the ball to Spolyar in the post. The senior spun to her left hand in the paint and made the game-winning field goal with 23 seconds left.
Spolyar was the driving force behind the offense and Butler defense would create 16 Xavier turnovers which resulted in 18 points.
Oumou Toure and and
Upe Atosu would each add nine points for Butler.
Shae Brey helped on the glass with eight rebounds and five points. Toure was strong across the board with seven rebounds, four steals, three blocks and two assists to go along with her nine points.
Butler jumped out to an 11-2 lead before a Xavier timeout.
Katherine Strong dished out an assist on three of Butler's first four field goals. The 'Dawgs opened the contest 4-for-5 from the field, but would shoot just 36.5 percent for the game.
The Musketeers would their rhythm on the offensive end with a 7-0 scoring run, cutting the score to 14-9. The final BU bucket of the first quarter was a triple by
Upe Atosu, giving the 'Dawgs an eight-point lead after 10 minutes.
Kristen Spolyar led Butler with eight first quarter points and
Oumou Toure set the tone defensively with four steals.
Butler closed out the second quarter just like the first as
Emilia Sexton checked into the game and knocked down a three from the corner. That 3-point field goal would be the difference during that stretch giving Butler a 29-18 lead at the half.
Butler's advantage would shrink down to six after a 7-0 Musketeers scoring run in the third. The Bulldogs answered the call and would grow their lead back to 38-27 at the media timeout, but momentum over the final four minutes of the third would shift back to Xavier. They ended the third on a 6-0 run and would trail by just five heading into the fourth (40-35).
Xavier's Lauren Wasylson opened the fourth with a 3-pointer to cut the lead to just two points and the game would be tight the rest of the way. Butler fought back with a 6-0 run that pushed the visitors into a timeout, but the Musketeers would not go away.
Gross hit a free throw with 2:29 left on the game clock to get Xavier within one at 48-47. BU looked to be in control after a huge 3-pointer from the left wing courtesy of Atosu, but back-to-back triples from Morgan Sharps in the final minute of regulation would knot the score at 53-53 and send the game into OT.
Xavier outscored Butler 35-24 in the second half and would score the first five points of the overtime session. Spolyar came up huge with a 3-pointer that stopped the scoring spree and Toure would grab an offensive board and get Butler two points with just under three to play to make the game 59-58.
Down the stretch, Spolyar would tie the game with a free throw and win the game with her field goal on the right block. A final free throw from the senior would take us to our final score of 63-61.
Butler won't play again until next Friday, Feb. 7 when they host the Georgetown Hoyas at 7 PM.
