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INDIANAPOLIS – The Butler women's basketball team will host DePaul and Marquette this weekend in BIG EAST action. The Blue Demons will visit Hinkle Fieldhouse Friday night at 7 PM. The weekend will come to a close with Marquette playing at Butler on Sunday with a 2 PM start.
 
Bulldog Bits
- Celena Taborn leads the NCAA in field goal percentage (72.8) and ranks 11th in the BIG EAST with a 13.8 scoring avg.
- Taborn has logged nearly 270 minutes of playing time this season and has only missed 22 shots on 81 attempts.
- Alex Richard scored a team-high 14 points in 17 minutes of playing time earlier this season at DePaul.
- Butler hosted DePaul exactly one year ago on Jan. 21, 2021! Tenley Dowell scored a career-high 14 points that night at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
 
Scouting DePaul                                                                                                   
The Blue Demons are 14-4 overall with a 6-1 record against BIG EAST opponents. All five starters are averaging double figures in the scoring column and Head Coach Doug Bruno may have the best freshman in the country playing in his frontcourt. Forward Aneesah Morrow leads the nation in double-doubles and is second in rebounds. ESPN recognized her as the top freshman in the country on Jan. 19 with her 18.9 scoring average to go along with 12.2 rebounds and a 52.3 field goal percentage. Morrow joined an already talented roster that includes upperclassmen Deja Church, Lexi Held, and Sonya Morris. This unit averages 91.3 points per game and 20.1 assists, tops in the nation in each category!
 
All-Time Series vs. DePaul                                                                                 
Butler defeated #25 DePaul for the first time in program history last season at Wintrust Arena in the regular season finale. The 86-81 victory came in the 21st meeting between the two teams. The all-time series that began in 1984-85, favors the Blue Demons 21-1.
 
Last Meeting vs. DePaul                                                                                     
The Bulldogs held an 18-17 lead 93 seconds into the second quarter before the host Blue Demons went on a decisive 22-2 run to lead by 19 just three and a half minutes later. DePaul went on to score 33 points in the second quarter and another 31 in the third to pull away. Deja Church led five Blue Demons in double figures with a game-high 19 points. Alex Richard led Butler with 14 points in 17 minutes of action. DePaul reached the century mark in points for the second time this season.
 
Scouting Marquette                                                                                            
The Golden Eagles are 11-5 this year with a 4-3 mark against BIG EAST opponents. They will play Xavier Friday night before traveling to Indianapolis on Sunday for a 2 PM tip at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Marquette picked up a significant win last week against DePaul, defeating the Blue Demons 88-85 at the Al McGuire Center. They followed that effort with a weekend split, winning 68-32 vs. Georgetown but falling 58-55 to Villanova. Karissa McLaughlin and Lauren Van Kleunen are the top two talents on the roster for head coach Megan Duffy. McLaughlin is a terrific 3-point shooter, connecting on 44 percent of her attempts this season. She leads the team with a 13.4 scoring average and Van Kleunen is underneath to score her 13.3 ppg. Van Kleunen is shooting 48 percent from the field this season and also leads the team in rebounding (6.8).
 
All-Time Series vs. Marquette                                                            
Marquette leads the all-time series against Butler 17-9. The Bulldogs won the first-ever meeting in 1985 by the final score 62-61. These two programs would compete as members of the MCC starting in 1989-90. BU swept the Golden Eagles during that regular season and would advance in the MCC Tournament with an overtime win over Marquette before falling to Notre Dame. Recent history has favored the Golden Eagles. Marquette has won the last three meetings. Recent BU highlights in this series include a 61-55 win at home in January of 2020 and of course the huge 61-57 road win over then-ranked #11 Marquette in February of 2019.
 
Last Meeting vs. Marquette                                                                
The Golden Eagles overcame shooting woes to record a home win over Butler in the first meeting. MU shot just .299 for the game while Butler finished with a .381 clip, including a .429 mark in the second half when they knotted the game midway through the third quarter. Tied at 34-34 with 4:26 left in the third, Marquette went on a decisive 11-0 run while keeping the Bulldogs off the scoreboard for more than five-and-a-half minutes. MU's Lauren Van Kleunen and Karissa McLaughlin tied for the game high with 15 points apiece, while Butler was led by Celena Taborn's 14-point, 10-rebound double-double.
 
Starting Five Shuffle                                                                              
Butler has used nine different starting lineups over the first 14 games of the season. The combination of Celena Taborn, Trinity White, Zoe Jackson, Alex Richard and Kendall Wingler have been used the most this year (five times). Wednesday night was the first time Coach G started with Taborn, White, Wingler, Tenley Dowell and Sydney Jaynes.
 
Fantastic Freshmen                                                                               
Five Butler freshmen have scored 511 of the 841 Bulldog points this season (60.7%). BU first-year players scored 30 of Butler's 44 points vs. Creighton. A freshman has led BU in scoring seven times this year, including Wednesday night with Trinity White scoring a team-best 12 points vs. the Bluejays. Four freshmen regularly appear in the starting lineup for the Bulldogs. Those four players only trail Celena Taborn in points per game.
 
Taborn Take Over                                                                                                
Celena Taborn notched her first double-double as a Bulldog on Dec. 5 at Marquette with 14 points and 10 rebounds. She followed that effort with 33 points and 10 rebounds vs. Denver. Taborn has now scored in double figures seven times this season (11 games). She has 1,386 points in her collegiate career and is the first Bulldog to score 30+ in a single game since Kristen Spolyar when she scored 30 vs. Marquette on Jan. 17, 2020.
 
Up Next                                                                                                                  
Butler will end the month of January with a pair of road games. Villanova will host BU Friday at 12 PM and the Bulldogs will face Georgetown Sunday, Jan. 30 at 2 PM.