GAME NOTES
 
INDIANAPOLIS— Butler and DePaul will meet for the second time this season on Feb. 8. Action at Wintrust Arena will get underway at 8 Eastern, 7 Central.
 
GameDay
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 8
Time: 8:00 PM
Location: Chicago, Ill. - Wintrust Arena
Live Stats: DePaulBlueDemons.com – Statbroadcast
Watch: FloSports.com – BEDN
 
Bulldog Bits
- Wednesday will be the 25th overall meeting between Butler and DePaul.
- Sydney Jaynes has scored in double figures in six of her last seven games.
- Jaynes led Butler with 16 points in the setback vs. Villanova. She added six boards and two steals.
- Jaynes ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in field goal percentage (50.8). She went 6-for-8 on Saturday.
- Jessica Carrothers ranks ninth in the BIG EAST in field goal percentage (50.0).
- Shay Frederick ranks seventh in the BIG EAST in 3-point field goal percentage (41.5).
- Frederick has made six 3-pointers over her last three games while shooting 60 percent from deep.
- Jordan Meulemans has hit multiple 3-pointers for Butler in three-straight games.
- Meulemans didn't start vs. Villanova but led Butler in minutes played (28:52).
- Tenley Dowell played 20 minutes vs. Nova to move her career total to 1,600.
- Butler's bench outscored Villanova 22-10.
- BU outrebounded Villanova 29-28. It was the first time they outrebounded their opponent since Jan. 11 at Georgetown.
- Butler went 11-for-12 from the free throw line against Villanova.
- BU made 17 free throws vs. DePaul in the first meeting, marking the second most made this season.
- Butler's 72 points vs. DePaul earlier this year is tied for the fourth-most points scored by the team this season.
- Aneesah Morrow and Darrione Rogers combined for 53 points in their last game vs. Butler.
- That duo accounted for 21 of DePaul's 27 points in the fourth quarter.
- The Bulldogs have used the same starting five unit in each of the last four games.
 
Scouting DePaul                                                                                                   
DePaul is 12-11 on the year with a 5-7 mark against conference foes. Aneesah Morrow and Tara Daye were each recognized by the BIG EAST office on Monday for winning Player and Freshman of the Week honors. Morrow averaged 32 points, eight rebounds, and 3.5 steals in games against Creighton and Xavier. She has 18 double-doubles this season and ranks second in the league in points (25.6) and first in rebounds (11.6). Daye led the BIG EAST in assists last week averaging 7.5 per game. She also gave the Blue Demons seven points and six rebounds per contest.
 
All-Time Series vs. DePaul                                                                                 
The Blue Demons are 23-1 all-time against Butler. The Bulldogs lone win in the series capped off the 2020-21 regular season. Butler upset #25 DePaul at Wintrust Arena by the final score of 86-81. These two programs have met on the hardwood 24 times with the first meeting coming during the 1984-85 campaign. Both Butler and DePaul were members of the North Star Conference.
 
Butler's Last Game vs. DePaul                                                            
DePaul opened BIG EAST play with a 78-72 victory over Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Blue Demons executed at a high level down the stretch, shooting 91 percent from the field in the fourth quarter including a perfect five-for-five from downtown. Aneesah Morrow paced the Blue Demons with 28 points, 14 rebounds and five steals while Darrione Rogers poured in 25 points and handed out seven assists. Rachel McLimore led a trio of Bulldogs in double figures with 17 points.
 
DePaul's Last Game                                                                              
DePaul topped Xavier 93-48 at Wintrust Arena over the weekend. Aneesah Morrow tallied 30 points off 13-of-19 shooting while grabbing 11 boards as the Blue Demons halted their four-game skid. Morrow added seven steals as DePaul tallied 17 thefts on the afternoon. The game got underway with DePaul jumping out to a 21-7 lead and the Blue Demons would cruise to victory by adding 55 second half points. Kendall Holmes had 21, Darrione Rogers added 17 and Keke Rimmer came off the bench to score 15. Xavier's Fernanda Ovalle went 7-for-7 from the field to score a team-high 16 points.
 
Behind the Arc                                                                                       
Butler ranks 6th in the NCAA and second in the BIG EAST in 3-point field goal percentage (38.3). The Bulldogs average 7.6 made 3-point field goals per game (3rd in the BIG EAST) and have made seven 3-pointers in three of their last four games. Shay Frederick and Jordan Meulemans came off the bench to supply BU with four of their seven 3-pointers vs. Villanova. The Bulldogs have four players with at least 20-made 3-pointers this season. Anna Mortag and Caroline Strande will join that group with their next make from long range.
 
Big Butler Upset                                                                                                   
The last time Butler knocked off a nationally ranked team was on March 1, 2021 when they defeated #25 DePaul 86-81 at Wintrust Arena. Butler only averaged 57.2 points per game that season, but they shot 54 percent against the Blue Demons to post a season-high 86 points. All five starters reached double figures that day and the 'Dawgs added 10 3-pointers to help them come out on top.
 
Balanced Scoring                                                                                                 
Rachel McLimore leads the team with her 10.8 scoring average. The only other Bulldog teams in program history to have a leading scorer average less than 11 points came in 2008-09 and 2001-02. The balanced scoring approach worked out great for the 2008-09 team. Butler went 20-12 that season and reached the WNIT. For this year's club, (23 games) Butler has had six different players lead the team in scoring. McLimore has done it seven times, but only twice this calendar year.
 
So Close                                                                                                                 
The Bulldogs have lost five games this season where they held at least a one-point lead over the opposition in the fourth quarter. BU led Marquette (51-50) with 9:20 left; they led St. John's (60-59) with 3:26 left; they led Illinois (51-50) with 7:40 left; they led DePaul (52-51) with 9:48 left, and they led IUPUI (55-54) with 2:51 left.
 
What a Half                                                                                                           
Butler scored 49 second half points the first time they played DePaul on Dec. 4. That's the second-highest scoring half for the Bulldogs this season trailing only the second half vs. Chicago State (53 pts). Butler's best scoring output in the first half this season came at Xavier when they dropped 45 points on the Musketeers back on Dec. 28.
 
Former Blue Demon                                                                                            
Rachel McLimore played at DePaul as a freshman during the 2017-18 season. She appeared in 30 games off the bench that year and earned DePaul's Shirley Becker Award and the 2018 Pat Ewers Unsung Hero Award. She sat out the following season due to NCAA Transfer Rules, but would return to her home state to play for Austin Parkinson at IUPUI for the next three years.
 
Tournament Talk                                                                                                 
The 2023 BIG EAST women's basketball tournament is less than one month 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 Marquette 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. Tip between Butler and Providence on Saturday is scheduled for 1 PM.