Butler and Texas will meet for the first time in program history on Saturday night in round two of the Gulf Coast Showcase. One of the best offenses in the country will take the court against a gritty Bulldog defense in the semifinal matchup. The contest will tip at 7:30 p.m. and will stream on FloCollege.com.
 
Game Day
Date: Saturday, November 30, 2024
Time: 7:30 PM EST
Location: Estero, Fla. - Hertz Arena
Live Stats: GulfCoastShowcase.com
Watch: FloCollege.com
 
Bulldog Bits
- At 6-1, the Bulldogs are off to their best start to a season since 2018-19.
- Sydney Jaynes scored a season-high 16 points vs. Santa Clara; all 16 came in the first half.
- Jaynes went 3-for-3 from 3-point range; she was 0-4 from distance entering the tournament.
- Lily Zeinstra scored a career-high nine points on Friday, logging a season-high 19 minutes of action.
- Zeinstra went 3-for-5 from 3-point range and added three rebounds and an assist to her stat line.
- Ari Wiggins made two 3-pointers vs. the Broncos to end the game with 10 points.
- Riley Makalusky made multiple 3-pointers vs. Santa Clara to record 13 points in the win.
- The Bulldogs made a season-high 10 3-pointers on Friday night, shooting 41 percent (10-24).
- Butler forced Santa Clara into 24 turnovers on Friday, resulting in 29 Bulldog points.
- Butler had 44 bench points on Friday night.
- Butler leads the BIG EAST in bench points per game (30.0).
- Caroline Strande ranks eighth in the BIG EAST in points per game with her 15.7 scoring average.
- Cristen Carter leads the league in blocked shots (13) and is third in blocks per game (1.8).
- Lily Carmody ranks third in the conference in total steals (19) and fourth in steals per game (2.7).
- Karsyn Norman ranks second in the BIG EAST in assist to turnover ratio.
- The Bulldogs lead the league in free throw attempts (20.2) and free throws made (14.0) per game.
- BU went 15-for-20 from the charity stripe in their last game and limited the Broncos to just six attempts.
- Butler outscored Santa Clara 20-6 in the second quarter to build a 46-17 halftime lead.
- Butler never trailed Santa Clara on Friday night; it was their first wire-to-wire win of the season.
 
BIG EAST Standings
UConn 6-0
Butler 6-1
St. John's 6-1
Creighton 4-2
Seton Hall 4-2
Villanova 4-2
Xavier 4-2
Marquette 3-2
Georgetown 3-3
Providence 3-5
DePaul 2-5
 
Scouting #5 Texas                                                                                             
The Longhorns improved to 5-0 on the season after defeating New Mexico State in the Gulf Coast Showcase on Friday night 90-50. Madison Booker and Taylor Jones combined to score 41 of the team's 90 points. Each student-athlete made eight field goals in the victory and Booker was perfect from the 3-point line (3-for-3). Before traveling to Florida, Texas earned wins against Southeast Missouri State, Lamar, DePaul, and Tarleton State. They have scored 90 points or more in four of their five games pushing their average up to 95.6, the second-highest total among all NCAA teams. Texas leads the NCAA in scoring margin (+44.2) and field goal percentage (52.9).  Booker averages 18.5 points per game while shooting 61 percent from the floor and Jones is right behind her with a 14.4 scoring average that includes 73.2 percent shooting.
 
All-Time Series                                                                                                   
This is the first meeting between Butler and Texas.
 
Bracket Breakdown                                                                            
The 2024 Women's Gulf Coast Showcase tipped off another exciting year as Texas (#5/4), West Virginia (#12/10), Boise State, and Butler claimed wins to advance to the semifinals on the opening day of the event at Hertz Arena in Estero, Florida. Play continues on Saturday, Nov. 30 with Illinois State facing High Point in the 11 a.m. game at Hertz Arena. Santa Clara will square off against New Mexico State at 1:30 p.m. followed by Boise State against No. 12/10 West Virginia at 5 p.m. No. 5/4 Texas will face Butler in the nightcap at 7:30 p.m.
 
Gulf Coast Showcase History                                                                       
Previous Gulf Coast Showcase champions include Iowa (2023), Michigan (2022), Iowa State (2021), Gonzaga (2019) and Texas (2018). The first tournament was played in 2013 and the UConn Huskies won it all in 2014. The only Indiana-based team to win the tournament crown was Notre Dame (2017).
 
Return to the Sunshine State                                                         
Butler returned to Florida to play in a tournament for the first time since 2022-23. Two years ago, BU beat Sacred Heart (64-39) and Binghamton (78-51) in the Florida Atlantic Thanksgiving Tournament.
 
Defense Travels                                                                                                 
Butler's defense has been solid at the start of the 2024-25 season limiting the opposition to just 55.9 points per game. They have held four opponents to 50 points or less this year, including Indiana who managed just 46 against the Bulldogs on Nov. 13.
 
Winning Ways                                                                                      
Butler is 5-0 this year when they lead their opponent at halftime, when they shoot 40 percent or higher from the field, and when they attempt more free throws than their opponent.
 
Carter's Second Chance Points                                                                  
Cristen Carter leads the team with 21 offensive rebounds this season. She has as many offensive rebounds as defensive in her career (77). She averages six rebounds per game along with Kilyn McGuff. Those to have helped Butler rank third in the BIG EAST in both rebound margin (+5.1) and offensive rebounds per game (12.9). Butler had 12 offensive rebounds on Friday and scored 20 second chance points vs. the Broncos.
 
Point Guard Play                                                                                                
Karsyn Norman and Ari Wiggins have combined for 37 assists and just 12 turnovers this year. Norman has had more assists than turnovers in every game but the setback at Vanderbilt. She tied her career-high with six assists in the season opener vs. Chicago State and matched that effort with six more vs. Indiana State. Wiggins didn't commit a single turnover over Butler's first three games of the season. She had a season-high four assists at Vanderbilt.
 
A Look At Last Week                                                                                         
Butler went 2-0 last week with wins over Indiana State and UMass Lowell. Caroline Strande made the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll by averaging 20.5 points over those two games. Strande shot 57 percent from the field (15-26) and was 5-for-12 from 3-point range (41%). Kilyn McGuff (12.0) and Riley Makalusky (11.5) also averaged double figures for the Bulldogs who averaged 74.5 points per game last week.
 
1,000 Point Watch List                                                                                     
Three Bulldogs are closing in on 1,000 career points this year. Caroline Strande is the closest at 869. The graduate guard scored 484 points for BU last year just missing the program's top ten list for most points scored in a single-season. Belmont transfer Kilyn McGuff has 66 total points as a Bulldog moving her career total to 789 and Sydney Jaynes moved up to 738 points after her season-high 16 in the win over Santa Clara.
 
Cheers To 50                                                                                                       
The Butler women's basketball program is celebrating 50 years of Bulldog basketball in 2024-25. Over the previous 49 years, BU has recorded 689 wins under the direction of nine head coaches. The program record for most wins in a single-season was set in 1980-81 when the Bulldogs went 26-2 under the leadership of Linda Mason. Butler's only NCAA Tournament appearance came in 1995-96 when BU posted a 21-9 overall record.
 
Up Next                                                                                                                 
Butler will either play #12 West Virginia or Boise State on Sunday depending on Saturday's outcomes. The Bulldogs will then return to Hinkle Fieldhouse on Thursday, Dec. 5 to host UT Martin at 7 p.m.