MILWAUKEE – Celena Taborn recorded her first double-double in a Bulldog jersey, but it wouldn't be enough on Sunday afternoon as the Bulldogs took a 59-45 loss at Marquette. Taborn was terrific for Butler leading the team with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
 
How It Happened
Celena Taborn came to play against Marquette. The grad transfer from Furman scored the first four points of the game for BU and impacted the game early with six first quarter rebounds. Jordan King would lead Marquette with five first quarter points and the Golden Eagles would own a 14-10 advantage over Butler after the opening 10 minutes.
 
Purdue transfer Karissa McLaughlin unloaded from distance in the second quarter to hit the first 3-pointer of the game at the 8:30 mark. McLaughlin would add another from behind the arc to spark a 9-2 Golden Eagle scoring run. Action after the hot shooting slowed way down. Marquette scored eight points from the charity stripe in quarter two and Butler was in the scorebook with nine points from the line.
 
Butler's first six points of the second quarter were all free throws. Zoe Jackson and Taborn would each add field goals to get Butler to 23 points. BU trailed by 11 at the break with Marquette pouring in 20 points in the second.
 
Butler played through Taborn at the start of the second half. She scored four points in the paint for the 'Dawgs then found Trinity White on the opposite wing for a triple. Butler's 7-0 scoring run at the start of the third made the game 34-30 and forced Marquette into a timeout.
 
The Butler defense turned it up a notch in the second half. Marquette didn't score over the first five minutes of the third quarter and Butler would get another bucket from Taborn to get within two at 34-32.
 
After the media timeout, Alex Richard would move the BU scoring run to 11-0 and tie the game at 34-34. Marquette responded by scoring the final nine points of the quarter to take a 43-34 lead into the fourth. King was responsible for five of the nine points to end the third for the Golden Eagles.
 
The fourth quarter got off to a slow start for each team. Zoe Jackson hit a triple for BU but it marked the only points for the Bulldogs before the media timeout. The BU point guard scored seven of her 11 points in the fourth quarter. Marquette closed out the game with hustle plays from Lauren Van Kleunen and a few jumpers from McLaughlin. Those two players allowed the home team to score 16 in the fourth and seal the 59-45 win.
 
Stat of the Game
Turnovers would be huge in Sunday's result. Butler was responsible for 26 turnovers and Marquette only committed four.
 
Inside the Box Score
- Sunday's game was a physical matchup with 34 fouls and 39 free throw attempts combined.
- Butler outrebounded Marquette 40-34, but Marquette won big on the offensive glass 17-8.
- Alex Richard scored eight points, three rebounds and a block for BU.
- Trinity White had five points, six rebounds and a team-high three assists.
 
Up Next
Butler will return to action on Friday, Dec. 10 when the Bulldogs host Denver. Tip is set for 6 PM at Hinkle Fieldhouse.