GAME NOTES
 
INDIANAPOLIS – Butler and Providence will meet for the second time this season on Saturday afternoon for a 1 PM tip on the BIG EAST Digital Network. The Friars will be fighting for their 14th win of the campaign and the Bulldogs will be in the mix to snap a seven-game skid.
 
GameDay
Date: Saturday, Feb. 11
Time: 1:00 PM
Location: Providence, R.I. - Alumni Hall
Live Stats: Friars.com – Sidearm
Watch: FloSports.com – BEDN
 
Bulldog Bits
- Saturday will be the 22nd overall meeting between Butler and Providence.
- With the loss at DePaul, Butler is now guaranteed to play in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament.
- Rachel McLimore led Butler in scoring at DePaul with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting.
- McLimore matched her season-high by making four 3-pointers at Wintrust Arena.
- Jessica Carrothers tied her career-high 3-point total with three makes at DePaul.
- Tenley Dowell hit three 3-pointers in a single-game for the third time this season.
- As a team, BU shot 13-for-35 from behind the arc Wednesday night (37.1%).
- Five different Bulldogs were responsible for Butler's first five made 3-pointers in Chicago.
- BU made five three pointers in the first quarter and added five more in the fourth.
- Carrothers (13) and Dowell (11) joined McLimore in double figures in Butler's last game.
- Carrothers ranks eighth in the BIG EAST in field goal percentage (50.0) and 11th in steals (1.3).
- Sydney Jaynes ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in field goal percentage (50.8).
- Anna Mortag ranks seventh in the BIG EAST in 3-point field goal percentage (40.8).
- Shay Frederick is close behind in ninth (40.6) and Dowell comes in at 11th (39.7).
- The Bulldogs have used the same starting five unit in each of the last five games.
- Butler and Xavier are the only BIG EAST teams that do not have a player averaging 30+ minutes of playing time per game.
- A different player has led BU in minutes played in each of the team's last three games.
- Butler's next three games after the Providence matchup will all be played at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
 
Scouting Providence                                                                             
Providence is 13-12 this season with a 4-10 mark in the BIG EAST Conference. The Friars shocked then-ranked #25/24 Creighton in Omaha to collect a 79-75 victory just four days into the New Year. PC also swept Xavier this season and claimed a conference road win at Hinkle to reach their four total wins. Janai Crooms is a player to keep an eye on for the Friars. The Michigan State transfer leads the team in scoring (11.4 ppg) and ranks eighth in the BIG EAST in rebounding (7.3).
 
All-Time Series vs. Providence                                                            
Butler leads the all-time series against Providence 11-10, but the Friars have won six-straight over the Bulldogs. Butler's last win against Providence was on Feb. 23, 2020. BU swept the regular season that year by also claiming a 50-47 win in Providence. The wildest game between the two programs was played in 2019. Butler was receiving votes that season, but fell in triple overtime at Providence with four of their five starters fouling out.
 
Butler's Last Game vs. Providence                                                     
Grace Efosa paced five Friars in double figures with 16 points and Janai Crooms added 12 points and 11 rebounds for her 10th career double-double as Providence scored a wire-to-wire road win at Butler. The Friars' defense held the Bulldogs to 38-percent shooting in the game (25-65), as PC improved to 11-1 on the season when holding its opponent below 40-percent from the field. Butler was paced by Caroline Strande who tallied a game-high 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
 
Providence's Last Game                                                                                     
Providence held a two-point lead over Seton Hall at the end of the first quarter, but the Pirates would storm back and record a 77-52 win over the Friars at Alumni Hall on Feb. 4. SHU outscored PC by six in the second quarter and would take full control of the action in the third. Seton Hall limited Providence to just eight points in the third quarter and 20 total points in the second half. Nariah Scott was the player of the game for the home team. She scored a career-high 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Scott has now reached double figures in three-straight games.
 
Behind The Arc                                                                                       
Butler ranks seventh in the NCAA and second in the BIG EAST in 3-point field goal percentage (38.2). The Bulldogs average 7.8 made 3-point field goals per game (3rd in the BIG EAST). Five student-athletes have hit at least 20 3-point field goals this season. Rachel McLimore hit four in her last game to improve her season total to 33. Caroline Strande needs just one more make 3-point range to reach 20 total this season. Every shooter on the roster that has made at least 20 3-pointers is shooting 30% or better from long range this season. Four of the five are 38% or better.
 
Streaks                                                                                                     
The Bulldogs are hard to defend on the perimeter because so many different student-athletes can consistently hit from long range. Shay Frederick has hit a 3-pointer in five-straight games, Tenley Dowell and Jordan Meulemans have each hit a triple in four-straight games and Anna Mortag has dialed from long distance in four of her last five games.
 
Carrothers Coming on Strong                                                             
Jessica Carrothers played her best game of the calendar year Wednesday night at DePaul. She scored in double figures for the first time since Dec. 18 (at Marquette) while adding three assists and two steals in 20 minutes. Carrothers took a career-high six 3-pointers and matched her career-high by making three of them. Six of her nine made 3-pointers this season have come in just two games (3-for-3 vs. Illinois).
 
Butler at DePaul Recap                                                                        
Four Blue Demons finished with double figure scoring for the second-straight game as DePaul topped visiting Butler 87-62 at Wintrust Arena on Wednesday night. Led by 23 points apiece from Darrione Rogers and Aneesah Morrow, DePaul shot a blistering 57-percent from the field, second-best in a single-game this season, to improve to 13-11 and 6-7 in BIG EAST play. Rachel McLimore had 18 points off 7-of-11 shooting for the Bulldogs, who fall to 7-17 overall and 2-13 in league play.
 
Tournament Talk                                                                                                 
The 2023 BIG EAST women's basketball tournament is three weeks away. If the tournament started this weekend, Butler would play as the No. 10 seed and face No. 7 seed DePaul. The winner of that contest would advance to the quarterfinals to play No. 2 seed Villanova. Other first round pairings would feature No. 6 seed Seton Hall playing No. 11 seed Xavier and No. 8 seed Georgetown playing No. 9 seed Providence. The tournament will be held in Uncasville, Conn. at Mohegan Sun Arena. Action starts March 3 and the championship game will air March 6 on FS1.
 
Road Trips                                                                                                             
Butler has two road games on the schedule this week with trips setup to Chicago and Providence. The round trip to Wintrust Arena covers 356 miles and the travel to Alumni Hall is 1,832 miles round trip. Altogether, BU will travel roughly 2,200 miles this week nearly the same distance (2,400) that the Philadelphia Eagles will travel for their Super Bowl appearance on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs in Glendale, Arizona.
 
Up Next                                                                                                                  
Butler will host Georgetown at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Feb. 15. The 7 PM tip on FloSports.com will be the first of three-straight home games for the Bulldogs.