WATCH | LIVE STATS | GAME NOTES
 
INDIANAPOLIS – Butler will host St. John's on Saturday for a 1 PM tip inside Hinkle Fieldhouse. Butler's first home game of the month of February will be a BEDN broadcast available on FloHoops.com.
 
Bulldog Bits
- Upe Atosu scored a season-high 16 points at Marquette while adding two assists and two steals.
- Jaia Alexander set new season-high totals in minutes played (31) and steals (3) Wednesday.
- Alexander ranks seventh in the BIG EAST averaging 7.3 rebounds per game.
- Okako Adika, Micah Scheetz and Annilia Dawn were all inactive at Marquette.
- Nyamer Diew jumped into the starting five Wednesday and logged a season-high 31 minutes.
- Tenley Dowell came up with the first blocked shot of her collegiate career vs. the Golden Eagles.
 
Scouting St. John's                                                                                               
Looking into this matchup, St. John's has dropped their last two games and have been without one of their biggest offensive weapons, Qadashah Hoppie, after she sustained a shoulder injury that will force her to miss the rest of the season. Since Hoppie's injury, Leilani Correa has averaged just over 32 points a game for the Johnnies. Correa has the two best performances in the BIG EAST this season, scoring 35 points twice. She scored 20 in the last match-up against the Bulldogs, so the key to this game will be to limit Correa's impact. Kadaja Bailey and Unique Drake are two other player's to keep an eye on. Bailey averages 10.3 points and doubles as the team assist leader. Drake and Raven Farley are the only two players to start in all 16 games for head coach Joe Tartamella.
 
All-Time Series vs. the Red Storm                                                      
Butler trails St. John's in the all-time series 11-4. The Red Storm swept the regular season series over Butler in 2019-20 after BU swept the series the year prior in 2018-19. Butler's last win over St. John's came in 2019 at Carnesecca Arena in overtime 73-68.
 
Last Meeting vs. St. John's                                                                                 
Butler shot the ball better from behind the arc against the Red Storm in the first meeting, but the Johnnies would walk away with a 64-56 victory. St. John's found the win column by winning the head-to-head battle in bench points, turnovers, and points in the paint. Genesis Parker led the Bulldogs against St. John's with 13 points and two steals. Upe Atosu scored in double digits with 11 points and Jaia Alexander added her own 11 points, eight rebounds, and two steals.
 
Finding Five Starters                                                                             
Butler has used eight different starting lineups over the span of 14 games. Okako Adika had started in the first 13 games for BU, but was inactive Wednesday for the game at Marquette. With Annilia Dawn also sidelined, Butler now has just two players on the roster that have appeared in all 14 games, Tenley Dowell and Ellen Ross. When available, Adika (13), Alexander (11), Parker (10), Scheetz (10) and Atosu (9) have been in the starting five.
 
Last Game                                                                                                              
Four Golden Eagles scored in double figures as Marquette scored a home wire-to-wire win over Butler on Wednesday afternoon. Chloe Marotta scored a team-high 12 points while Lauren Van Kleunen gathered a game-best 10 rebounds as Marquette (13-4, 10-3 BIG EAST) shot over 40-percent for the 15th time this season and won the rebounding battle for the 14th time. Butler (1-13, 1-12) boasted the top two scorers in the game as Genesis Parker and Upe Atosu both notched 16 points. The win moved Marquette into the solo spot in third place in the BIG EAST standings.
 
Nine for 900                                                                                                          
Grad transfer Micah Scheetz needs nine points on Wednesday to reach 900 career points. The shooting guard scored 92 points as a freshman at UAB and 742 in two years at ETSU. This season, Scheetz has 57 points in 10 games. She is coming off a 10-point performance against Villanova.
 
Atosu Returns to Action                                                                                     
Upe Atosu was great in her return to the court on Wednesday with 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting. Atosu knocked down a 3-pointer in the first quarter and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
 
Genesis Goes Off                                                                                                 
Genesis Parker hit her first three 3-point field goal attempts in the first quarter of the game at Marquette to help her finish the game with 16 points. 11 of her team-high 16 points came over the opening 10 minutes. She ended the game with four makes behind the arc to set a new season-high.
 
In-Game Adjustments                                                                          
Butler hit six shots in the first quarter Wednesday, but would be limited to just eight over the final three quarters. Players started to attack the rim due to shots not falling on the road. The strategy resulted in Butler shooting 13 free throws over the final ten minutes. Butler has had six games this season where they have not attempted 13 free throws in a game. The team finished 15-for-18 from the charity stripe to set a new season-high for free throw makes in a single-game.
 
Get the Board                                                                                         
Marquette pulled down 22 more rebounds than Butler on Wednesday. The 'Dawgs had to play without Okako Adika for the first time this season which led to that outcome. Adika and Jaia Alexander are responsible for 43 percent of Butler's total rebounds this season. Alexander leads the team with 80 total rebounds despite missing three games this year.
 
Atosu with an Assist                                                                             
Butler guard Upe Atosu leads the team with 22 assists despite missing five games this season. She averages 2.4 assists per game and doubles as the team leader in steals with 17.
 
Short Bench                                                                                                           
Butler played with just nine active players at Marquette. The starting five included Diew, Parker, Dowell, Alexander, and Atosu. Reserves included two juniors in Sexton and Ross mixed with two freshmen in Stoddard and Dumont. Adika Scheetz, and Dawn were all inactive, Caceres and Robinson opted out due to COVID-19 concerns and Toure is out for the rest of the season with an injury.
 
Up Next                                                                                                                  
Butler will battle Villanova on Tuesday, Feb. 16. The BEDN contest will start at 7 PM. In the first meeting, Nova posted a 90-53 win over the Bulldogs inside Hinkle Fieldhouse. Jaia Alexander and Okako Adika shared the team lead in points that day with 14 each.