GAME NOTES
 
INDIANAPOLIS – The Butler women's basketball team will travel to Villanova this weekend for a Sunday matinee at Finneran Pavilion. The 2PM contest will stream live on FloSports.com.
 
GameDay
Date: Sunday, Jan. 8
Time: 2:00 PM
Location: Villanova, Pa. - Finneran Pavilion
Live Stats: Villanova.com – Statbroadcast
Watch: FloSports.com – BEDN
 
Bulldog Bits
- Sunday is the 20th overall meeting between Butler and Villanova.
- Rachel McLimore led Butler in scoring against UConn with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting.
- McLimore hit a team-high four 3-pointers vs. the Huskies to tie her season-high.
- McLimore has hit multiple 3-pointers in a single-game seven times this year and has led BU in scoring seven times.
- Butler hit nine 3-pointers vs. UConn, tying their third-highest total of the season.
- Butler has attempted 20+ 3-pointers in five of their last six games.
- Shay Frederick has made eight 3-pointers over her last three starts (11 over her first 12 games).
- Frederick needs five rebounds to reach 400 in her collegiate career.
- Tenley Dowell has hit at least one 3-pointer in seven-straight games.
- Butler went on an 8-0 scoring run vs. UConn in the second quarter to get within five points of the Huskies at 28-23.
- McLimore and Sydney Jaynes are the only two Bulldogs to start in all six BIG EAST games.
- Jaynes tied her career-high with three steals vs. UConn.
- Kelsy Taylor tied her career-high assist total with three against the Huskies.
- Taylor led Butler with five rebounds on Tuesday night. It was fourth time she has led BU in the rebound column.
- Trinity White logged a season-high 21 minutes of playing time vs. UConn and tied her season-high point total with four points vs. the Huskies.
- Maddy Siegrist leads the nation in scoring (28.0).
- The last player to score 30+ points against Butler was Siegrist. She had 31 points on Feb. 25, 2022.
- Villanova is receiving votes in each poll.
 
BIG EAST Standings
UConn 6-0, 13-2
Seton Hall 5-1, 12-4
St. John's 4-1, 13-1
Villanova 4-1, 13-3
DePaul 3-2, 10-6
Marquette 3-3, 10-5
Creighton 3-3, 9-5
Providence 1-4, 10-6
Georgetown 1-5, 8-7
Butler 1-5, 6-9
Xavier 0-6, 7-8
 
Scouting Villanova                                                                                 
The Wildcats have won four in a row and are now 13-3 overall with a 4-1 record against conference opponents. Maddy Siegrist not only leads the BIG EAST in scoring, she ranks second in rebounding (9.5). The Preseason Player of the Year had 29 and 10 in the victory over Georgetown on Wednesday. Lucy Olsen and Maddie Burke joined her in double figures. Olsen is one of the best 3-point shooters in the conference and she ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in assists (4.2). Christina Dalce is another force on the Nova roster. The 6-2 forward averages 2.0 blocks per game to lead the BIG EAST Conference.
 
All-Time Series vs. Villanova                                                               
Butler trails Villanova in the all-time series 13-6. The Wildcats have won four-straight over Butler, but the Bulldogs swept the regular season meetings in 2019-20. Back in 2018, Butler went to #21 Villanova to knock off the nationally-ranked Wildcats 76-53. Nova had won six-straight against BU heading into that upset.
 
Butler's Last Game vs. Villanova                                                                       
Butler was limited to just 36 points the last time they played Villanova. The Wildcats were led to victory by Maddy Siegrist. She led all players with 31 points while adding seven rebounds, two assists and a steal. Siegrist shot 13-for-18 from the field and had five made 3-pointers. Sydney Jaynes posted six points for the Bulldogs and Kendall Wingler came off the bench to add five.
 
Villanova's Last Game                                                                          
The Wildcats won their fourth in a row, holding off an upset-minded Georgetown squad, which narrowed a 14-point deficit down to three with under two minutes to play. Maddy Siegrist, the nation's leading scorer, tallied game highs of 29 points and 10 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season. Following her 29-point night, Siegrist passed UConn legend Rebecca Lobo on the BIG EAST's all-time scoring list, landing at No. 7 with 1,243 points over 54 conference games. Rookie Kennedy Fauntleroy led Georgetown (8-7, 1-5 BIG EAST) with 24 points off 9-of-15 shooting. GU used a 13-0 run to get within one, 61-60, with 4:56 left, but neither team scored for the next three minutes as the Wildcats clung to the advantage. Villanova (13-3, 4-1) scored the next six points to pull away late.
 
Knock Down Shooters                                                                          
Butler ranks 16th in the NCAA and second in the BIG EAST in 3-point field goal percentage (37.0). The Bulldogs buried nine 3-pointers in their last game against UConn. Rachel McLimore led the team with four and Shay Frederick added three. McLimore is the top 3-point shooter on the roster with 23 makes on 59 attempts (39.0%). Frederick is second on the team with 19 made 3-pointers and Tenley Dowell is third with 16. BU has five players on the roster with at least 10 made 3-pointers. 11 of the 14 Bulldogs to see playing time this season have hit at least one shot from distance.
 
3-Pointers                                                                                                              
Butler made 14 3-pointers at Xavier while shooting 48.3 percent from distance. Their season-high total doubles as the most made in a BIG EAST game this season. Before the game at Xavier, BU was in a three-way tie with UConn and Villanova with 13 makes from 3-point range. Butler made 13 earlier this season vs. Binghamton while hitting at a 56.5 clip. The Bulldogs average 7.5 made 3-point field goals per game (3rd in the BIG EAST) and the Wildcats rank last in 3-point field goal percentage defense (36.7).
 
New Wave                                                                                                             
Eight Butler newcomers account for 69.8 percent of the team's scoring this season.
 
Valuable Experience                                                                             
HC Austin Parkinson added three graduate transfers to the roster in McLimore, Frederick and Taylor. Those three-student-athletes have logged over 9,000 minutes of playing time throughout their collegiate careers! The rest of the roster combines for 6,800.
 
Keys to Success                                                                                      
Holding a halftime lead and shooting more free throws than the opposition have been instrumental to Butler's success this season. The 'Dawgs are 6-2 this year when in front after 20 minutes and are 6-3 when attempting more free throws than their opponent. They have averaged 20.6 free throw attempts in victories this year and just 9.8 in losses. Currently the 'Dawgs have shot seven free throws or less in four of their last five games.
 
January 8                                                                                                               
The Bulldogs are 2-1 when playing on Jan. 8 since they joined the BIG EAST in 2013-14. Wins came at Xavier and Providence and the lone setback was to Villanova (1/8/14).
 
UConn Recap                                                                                                        
No. 5 UConn (12-2, 5-0 BIG EAST) scored an 80-47 win at Butler (6-9, 1-5) in the lone BIG EAST game on Tuesday night. Aaliyah Edwards tallied game highs of 20 points and nine rebounds, making 10-of-12 shots from the field while registering three steals and three assists. The Huskies shot .586 on the night while limiting the Bulldogs to 22 second-half points. Butler narrowed a 15-point first-quarter deficit down to five in the second quarter but UConn responded with a 16-2 run to pull away. Rachel McLimore led Butler with 18 points, draining a game-high four triples.
 
Up Next                                                                                                                  
Butler will play at Georgetown on Wednesday, Jan. 11. The 7 PM tip will stream live on FloSports.com.