GAME NOTES
 
INDIANAPOLIS – The longest road trip of the season is up next for the Butler women's basketball team. The Bulldogs will play the Providence Friars in Rhode Island on Friday night and then travel west to take on the Creighton Bluejays in Nebraska on Super Bowl Sunday. Each game will be streamed on FloHoops by the BIG EAST Digital Network.
 
Bulldog Bits
- Celena Taborn leads the NCAA in field goal percentage (68.5).
- Taborn notched her third double-double of the year vs. St. John's with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
- Sydney Jaynes hit a career-high three 3-pointers vs. St. John's to score nine points.
- Sunday's game at Creighton is the annual Bluejay "Pink Game"
 
Scouting Providence                                                                             
The Friars are 9-13 this season with a 4-9 record against BIG EAST opponents. They claimed their ninth win of the season at Georgetown in overtime on Jan. 23, but have lost four-straight games since. Providence hit a tough stretch of the schedule in recent weeks playing at Creighton, Marquette and DePaul. Their lone home game during that span was against #10 UConn. PC only lost by eight points to UConn on Jan. 30 and were edged by Marquette their next time out 61-59. Head Coach Jim Crowley added a talented transfer to his roster this season. 5-10 guard Janai Crooms joined the Friar program after playing for both Ohio State and Michigan State. She leads the team in scoring (14.2), rebounding (8.4) and steals (1.4).
 
All-Time Series vs. Providence                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
The all-time series between Butler and Providence favors the Bulldogs 11-7. The Friars narrowed the gap last season by defeating Butler three times. PC won at Butler in the BU home opener on Dec. 5 and held off the 'Dawgs at Alumni Hall 62-50. The third meeting came in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament. Butler led Providence for nearly 27 minutes, but the Friars came back to advance with a 63-61 victory.
 
Last Meeting vs. Providence                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
No. 10 Butler and No. 7 Providence met in the first round of the 2021 BIG EAST Tournament. Alyssa Geary led PC to victory with 19 points and nine rebounds. Mary Baskerville was limited due to foul trouble, but still impacted the game with 10 points and six rebounds. The Bulldogs led 32-25 at the half, but were outscored 38-29 over the final 20 minutes of action.
 
Butler at Alumni Hall                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
The Bulldogs are 5-3 when playing at Providence inside Alumni Hall. BU won the first three games in Rhode Island, but the most recent five have gone back and forth. One of the longest games in Bulldog history went down between these two programs in 2019. The Bulldogs went into the contest fighting for a spot in the Top-25 of the national poll, but were upended by Providence in three overtimes 74-68. Five of the eight games played at Alumni Hall have been within 10 points or less. BU averages 62 points in these games and Providence has averaged 61.
 
Scouting Creighton                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
The Bluejays are 16-7 overall with an 11-4 mark in the BIG EAST Conference. Three of the team's four losses in conference action have occurred over the last five games. Maddy Siegrist led Villanova over Creighton on Jan. 23, #10 UConn knocked off the 'Jays on Feb. 2 and the team just took a tough 50-47 loss in Milwaukee last weekend. Creighton did post 95 points in a win over Providence during this stretch and defeated DePaul 77-68 in Chicago, handing the Blue Demons just their third conference loss of the year. Emma Ronsiek continues to lead Creighton in the scoring column, averaging 14.2 points per game. She is coming off a rough performance that included just two points on 1-of-9 shooting against the Golden Eagles. The only Creighton player to hit double figures in Milwaukee was Morgan Maly. She came off the bench to post 14 points and four boards. She ranks second on the team with an 11.6 scoring average.
 
All-Time Series vs. Creighton                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Butler trails Creighton in the all-time series 11-8. The Bulldogs were victorious in the first-ever meeting during the 2013-14 season 58-52, but the Bluejays won the last meeting a year ago 88-41. The two programs have met in the conference tournament two times with CU winning each matchup.
 
Last Meeting vs. Creighton                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
Creighton racked up 30 assists on 38 made field goals to best Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Emma Ronsiek scored 17 of her game-high 20 points in the first half. All 11 Bluejays who checked into the game scored at least two points and 10-of-11 recorded at least one assist. Trinity White led Butler with 12 points while Celena Taborn chipped in nine. Creighton matched its season high with 14 made three-pointers, including four for Morgan Maly who finished with 14 points.
 
Run the Point                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
Zoe Jackson has twice as many assists this season than any other player on the roster. The true freshman has dished out 60 assists this year to average 3.0 per contest. She has led Butler in assists 11 times this year and ranks 13th in the BIG EAST.
 
Best vs. the BIG EAST                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
Tenley Dowell and Emilia Sexton rank second and third on the team in scoring against BIG EAST competition. Dowell has reached double figures in four of Butler's last six games and shined in Sunday's setback to Seton Hall with a career-high 17 points. Sexton recently scored a career-high 19 points in a home contest vs. DePaul. She has hit double figures in four of Butler's last nine games.
 
Starting Five Shuffle                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
Butler has used 13 different starting lineups over 20 games this season. The combination of Celena Taborn, Trinity White, Zoe Jackson, Alex Richard and Kendall Wingler have been used the most this year (five times). Butler rolled out Taborn, Tanner, Jackson, Dowell and Sexton against the Red Storm. Taborn has started in 15 consecutive games. Dowell has the second longest streak on the team with eight-straight starts.
 
Fantastic Freshmen                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
Butler freshmen have scored 675 of the 1,181 Bulldog points this season (57.1%). BU first-year players scored 37 of the team's 61 points against St. John's. A freshman has led BU in scoring eight times this year, including Jan. 28 with Trinity White scoring 10 points at Villanova.
 
Up Next                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
Butler will host Providence on Wednesday, Feb. 16. This game was originally slated for Jan. 2, but had to be rescheduled due to COVID-19 issues within the Friar program. It's a unique set up giving Butler just played at Providence on Feb. 11.