BOCA RATON -- The Bulldogs are now 3-2 on the year after posting a 64-39 win over Sacred Heart in the first game of the 2022 Florida Atlantic Thanksgiving Tournament. Butler shot 44 percent (23-52) from the floor and limited the Pioneers to just 26 percent shooting (16-60).
 
"I'm really proud of the way we played defense in the second half," Head Coach Austin Parkinson explained after the game. "We had multiple kids take a charge today which has been an emphasis within our program. Everyone did a nice job on defensive rotations."
 
Jessica Carrothers led Butler in the scoring column with a game-high 17 points. She hit six of her seven field goal attempts and added five rebounds to her stat line in just under 17 minutes of action.
 
"Jessica continues to be outstanding for us," Parkinson added. "She is getting better every game."
 
Caroline Strande also reached double figures on Friday afternoon with 12 points in 18 minutes. Her only miss in the game came from the free throw line (2-3). She was perfect from the field (4-4) and knocked down two shots from behind the arc.
 
After a full 40 minutes, the Butler bench outscored the SHU bench 37-7.
 
BU got eight points and 11 rebounds from Anna Mortag, six points from both Sydney Jaynes and Rachel McLimore and a team-high three steals from Jordan Meulemans.
 
The starting five unit played well at the start of the game, allowing BU to score the first seven points of the contest. Mortag and Meulemans had layups around a Shay Frederick 3-pointer which led to a quick SHU timeout.
 
Six Bulldogs would score for BU in the first frame, which helped Butler double up the Pioneers 16-8 after the first 10 minutes of action. Tucker scored five of the first six for SHU and Carrothers matched her with five points for the 'Dawgs.
 
Sacred Heart played their best basketball of the game in the second quarter to outscore BU by two, 15-13. Kelsy Taylor impacted the lineup with the first three points of the second, but the Pioneers would stick around, trailing by six at the half 29-23.
 
The game began to take shape at the start of the second half. Butler didn't allow a field goal until the 2:35 mark of the third quarter to extend their lead. The Pioneers burned a timeout in an effort to stop a 6-0 BU scoring run, but the spree would move to 11-0 after a Strande 3-pointer.
 
Butler led Sacred Heart 43-32 going into the fourth quarter and a 12-2 scoring run in the fourth would allow the Bulldogs to cruise to victory.
 
Butler will have less than 24 hours to enjoy their third victory of the season. The team will turn around and play Binghamton tomorrow at 2 PM.