GAME NOTES
 
INDIANAPOLIS – The Butler women's basketball team will play at Ball State Thursday night at 6:30 PM. The Bulldogs have played the Cardinals eight times over the last 10 years. BSU has won five of the last eight meetings.
 
GameDay
Date: Thursday, Nov. 17
Time: 6:30 PM
Location: Muncie, Ind. - Worthen Arena
Live Stats: BallStateSports.com
Watch: ESPN+
 
Bulldog Bits
- Thursday will be the 29th meeting between Butler and Ball State.
- Tenley Dowell needs one more rebound to reach 200 in her BU career. Dowell also needs just one point to reach 300.
- Caroline Strande already has more points at Butler (24) after two games than she had in 11 games last year playing for Minnesota (15).
- Jordan Meuleman's first field goal of her BU career came on Butler's first possession vs. IUPUI. She hit a 3-pointer off a feed from Rachel McLimore.
- Sydney Jaynes tied her career-high assist total with four on Sunday vs. IUPUI.
- Anna Mortag and Caroline Strande each set new career-high scoring totals in their Butler debut.
- Mortag hasn't missed a free throw this season (9-9) and has hit two 3-pointers in each game. Her 14.5 scoring average leads the team.
- Butler limited IUPUI to just one made field goal in the second quarter.
- BU has shot over 45% from the field in each game this season.
- For the first time since 2012-13, the BIG EAST has three teams in the Associated Press Top 25.
 
BIG EAST Standings
Marquette 3-0
Xavier 3-0
Creighton 2-0
St. John's 2-0
UConn 2-0
Villanova 2-0
Providence 2-1
Seton Hall 2-1
Butler 1-1
DePaul 1-1
Georgetown 1-1
 
Scouting Ball State                                                                                
The Cardinals are 1-1 this season after defeating Indiana University East 105-51 in their home opener on Monday afternoon. The 2022-23 campaign got off to a rocky start as Tennessee Tech posted a 68-63 win over Ball State. Redshirt senior Anna Clephane leads the team with a 17.0 scoring average. Marie Kiefer and Annie Rauch are also scoring threats averaging 10.0 ppg. Kiefer is also pulling down 10.0 rebounds per contest. She shares the team lead in that category with former Bulldog Alex Richard. Head Coach Brady Sallee enters his 11th season at Ball State in 2022. He helped the Cardinals reach the MAC Tournament title game last year where they were upended by Buffalo 79-75. BSU came up with 20 wins a year ago and reached the WNIT. Sallee also became the program's winningest coach with 183 victories.
 
All-Time Series                                                                                       
Butler leads the all-time series against Ball State 16-12. The first-ever meeting between the two programs was played in 1980-81 with the Bulldogs winning at Ball State 69-54. The Cardinals came up with a 70-56 win at Hinkle Fieldhouse last season and were victorious at home against Butler in 2019-20 by the final score of 74-70. Butler's last win against Ball State was a 64-47 outcome in 2018-19. Butler's last win at Ball State came during the 2012-13 season (70-62).
 
Last Game vs. Ball State                                                                                     
Ball State scored 27 points in the third quarter allowing them to record a 70-56 win at Butler last year. Anna Clephane led BSU with 21 points. Butler's top scorer was Kendall Wingler with 17. Wingler made five 3-pointers against the Cardinals and would add five rebounds, two assists and a steal. 26 Butler turnovers turned into 20 Ball State points. Each team shot 39 percent from the field.
 
IUPUI at Butler Recap (11/13)                                                            
Butler led IUPUI for nearly 28 minutes on Sunday afternoon, but the Jags outscored the Bulldogs 29-19 in the fourth quarter to capture a 67-61 win. Anna Mortag led BU with 13 points. Caroline Strande added 12 points and a career-high seven rebounds. Sydney Jaynes also set a new career-high with nine rebounds in the setback.
 
Milestone Markers                                                                                              
Butler brought in three graduate transfers this off-season to help reload the Bulldog roster. Shay Frederick needs just two assists against Ball State to reach 500 in her collegiate career. Frederick is a well-rounded player that also heads into Thursday night with 1,272 career points and 165 steals. Rachel McLimore has scored 1,056 points in her collegiate career to go along with 290 rebounds and 89 assists. McLimore needs three more free throws to reach 200 in her career. Kelsy Taylor is averaging 10.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game for the Bulldogs after the first week of the regular season. She needs 185 points this year to reach 1,000. Taylor will need to average 6.7 points per game this season to reach the milestone. She is also one of just eight active BIG EAST players to have 500+ rebounds in her career.
 
Crash The Boards                                                                                                 
Butler is +14 in rebound margin this year. They have pulled down 42 rebounds in each game this season. Ball State is +16.5 this year on the boards. They average 49.5 per game. Trinity White grabbed a career-high eight rebounds vs. Ball State last year (11/16/21).
 
Good Depth                                                                                                          
The Bulldogs had 11 players log 10+ minutes of action in the season opener and nine more saw extended playing time against IUPUI. Every member of the projected starting five averages 20+ minutes along with Caroline Strande (20.1).
 
Road Trip                                                                                                               
Butler's first road game of the 2019-20 campaign was also at Ball State. The Bulldogs have not won their first road game since the 2017-18 season when they went to Murray State to record an 88-59 victory.
 
Quality Looks                                                                                         
The Bulldogs are shooting 49.5 percent from the field over the first two games of the season. Kelsy Taylor leads the team in field goal percentage (76.9). She is one of seven players shooting over 50 percent.
 
Carrothers Contributing                                                                       
BU freshman Jessica Carrothers leads the team with six assists early in the 2022-23 season. The backup point guard only has two turnovers in 32 minutes of action. Carrothers is also the team leader in steals with three.
 
Parkinson Adds Two on National Signing Day                                 
Karsyn Norman (Bedford North Lawrence) and Riley Makalusky (Hamilton Southeastern) each signed a national letter of intent last week to join the Butler women's basketball program. Prep Girls Hoops has Norman ranked as the sixth best player in the state and Makalusky is right behind her at seventh. Each player was an Indiana Junior All-Star.
 
Up Next                                                                                                                  
Butler will return to Hinkle Fieldhouse on Monday, Nov. 21 to host Tennessee State at 7 PM. The team will spend Thanksgiving in Boca Raton, Fla. participating in the Florida Atlantic Thanksgiving Tournament. BU will play Sacred Heart and Binghamton in back-to-back days.