Box Score CINCINNATI – The Xavier Musketeers found the win column against Butler in their BIG EAST home opener. Kae Satterfield led all players with a game-high 18 points. Butler saw Emilia Sexton tie her career-high with 15 points while Tenley Dowell chipped in with a season-high 12.
 
How It Happened
Xavier hit four-straight shots to spark a 7-0 scoring run in the first quarter to build a 12-7 lead at the first media timeout. Emilia Sexton would change the course of the game with six points in the opening quarter. The BU senior came off the bench to knock down two 3-pointers in the first frame.
 
Each team sprinkled in some zone defense early in the contest which opened up shots from behind the arc. BU started the game 2-for-10 from deep while Xavier was 2-for-6. After the first 10 minutes, Xavier would lead Butler 16-12.
 
Butler adjusted to the Musketeer 2-3 zone and opened the second quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers, tying the game at 18-18. Kendall Wingler hit the first and Tenley Dowell connected on the second. Butler would also get back to the basics and feed the post throughout the first half. Sydney Jaynes earned a trip to the foul line with this method and would put BU in front 21-20 with a free throw at the 6:35 mark.
 
The lead would quickly fade with Xavier's Mackayla Scarlett hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Musketeers a 26-21 lead at the media timeout. Scarlett helped the home team outscore Butler 12-2 over a three-minute stretch to improve their lead to 32-23. Xavier would lead Butler 37-27 at the half after a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Kae Satterfield. Scarlett and Satterfield combined for 23 first half points. BU was led by Jaynes with seven and Sexton with six.
 
Butler played inside out at the start of the third quarter. Celena Taborn hit three free throws in the opening minutes of the second half and sent Xavier's Ayanna Townsend to the bench with three personal fouls. Butler would get three more points from a long distance triple from Wingler and Xavier would call for a timeout with 7:28 to play in the third.
 
Business picked up for the Bulldogs at the midway point of the third quarter. Sexton checked into the game to hit her third 3-pointer of the day and Dowell did her job on the next trip with a triple from the wing in front of the BU bench to get the Bulldogs back within four points at 43-39.
 
Taborn was forced to the BU bench with four minutes to play in the third with her fourth personal foul. Xavier countered by brining Townsend back in and a 9-0 Musketeer scoring run would follow. Satterfield would give Xavier a 59-43 lead heading into the fourth by once again beating the buzzer. This time she drove hard to the right block and laid it in for her 14th point of the day.
 
Dowell hit her third 3-pointer of the contest at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs only managed to add two more free throws before the media timeout. Xavier led 67-48 with 4:19 remaining and would take that advantage to the finish line for a 77-55 victory.
 
Stat of the Game
Xavier's Mackayla Scarlett started for just the second time this season and scored a career-high 16 points.
 
Inside the Box Score
- Butler had won the previous five meetings and still own the lead in the all-time series vs. Xavier
- Xavier only had seven active players on the roster Wednesday; Butler played with 10
- Butler committed 21 turnovers leading to 19 Xavier points
- Xavier came up with 18 offensive rebounds, resulting in 26 second chance points
- The Musketeers outrebounded Butler 41-38 and won the points in the paint battle 32-12
- 11 of Butler's 17 made field goals came from 3-point land
- Celena Taborn scored nine points and added five rebounds
 
Up Next
Butler will host Creighton on New Year's Eve. The BIG EAST home opener will tip at 2 PM.