The first BIG EAST game for the Butler women's basketball team is coming up on Saturday afternoon. The DePaul Blue Demons will host the Bulldogs at 3 p.m. Eastern, 2 p.m. Central. Action inside Wintrust Arena will stream on FloSports.com.
 
Game Day
Date: Saturday, December 21, 2024
Time: 3:00 PM ET I 2:00 PM CT
Location: Chicago, Ill. - Wintrust Arena
Live Stats: DePaulBlueDemons.com
Watch: FloSports.com – BEDN
 
Bulldog Bits
- BU outscored Saint Francis 32-5 in the third quarter on Sunday.
- It was the second time BU has scored 30+ points in a quarter under the leadership of Coach Parkinson.
- Butler only had nine turnovers vs. Saint Francis matching their lowest total of the season.
- Lily Carmody led BU in scoring for the second time this season, scoring 18 in the win over SFU.
- Carmody set new career-high totals in rebounds (7), assists (6) and steals (4) in the victory.
- Carmody hit three 3-pointers in her last game, moving her career total to seven.
- Lily Zeinstra shined in her first start of the season scoring 17 points while shooting 4-6 from three.
- Karsyn Norman had six assists and just one turnover in her last game while adding three steals.
- Kilyn McGuff leads the BIG EAST and ranks 18th in the nation in double-doubles (5).
- McGuff leads the team and ranks fourth in the conference in rebounds per game (7.7).
- McGuff needs five more steals to reach 100 in her career; she is eight free throws shy of 200.
- Ari Wiggins has been great from 3-point range this year making 75% of her attempts (9-12).
- Butler leads the BIG EAST in bench points per game (28.3).
- Cristen Carter ranks fifth in the league in blocked shots (15) and is eighth in blocks per game (1.1).
- Carter had seven rebounds in just 13 minutes of playing time in her last game.
- The Bulldogs lead the league in free throw attempts (20.9) and free throws made (14.2) per game.
- Jocelyn Land grabbed a career-high six rebounds in the win over Saint Franics.
- Land went 3-for-6 from 3-point range last week.
 
BIG EAST Standings
UConn 1-0, 10-1
Creighton 1-0, 9-2
St. John's 0-0, 10-1
Marquette 0-0, 7-2
Butler 0-0, 10-3
Seton Hall 0-0, 8-3
Providence 0-0, 7-6
Villanova 0-0, 6-6
DePaul 0-0, 5-8
Georgetown 0-1, 6-5
Xavier 0-1, 4-6
 
Scouting DePaul                                                                                               
The Blue Demons are 5-8 overall with wins over Mercyhurst, Loyola, SIUE, UIC, and Southern. Four of their eight losses have come against nationally-ranked teams. DePaul played Texas before facing Oklahoma and Kansas State in Las Vegas. They also traveled up to East Lansing to play Michigan State when they were ranked #24. DePaul is a good offensive rebounding team that also likes to get to the free throw line. No BIG EAST player takes or makes more free throws than Jorie Allen. The 6-0 graduate forward averages 19 points and 3.7 assists per game, leading DePaul in each category.
 
All-Time Series                                                                                                   
DePaul is 25-2 all-time against Butler. Each Bulldog win over DePaul has been recorded at Wintrust Arena. The first was in 2020-21 when BU beat #25 DePaul in the regular season finale (86-81). The second was in the last meeting, again on DePaul's Senior Day 73-70. These two programs first played in 1984-85 as members of the North Star Conference.
 
Last Game vs. DePaul                                                                                     
Five Bulldogs scored in double figures the last time Butler played DePaul allowing the Bulldogs to post a 73-70 win over the Blue Demons. BU shot 45 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range (10-20) to earn the win. Caroline Strande had 15 points and Riley Makalusky added 12. Both Ari Wiggins and Karsyn Norman had 10 points. Jorie Allen led DePaul with 30 points.
 
BIG EAST Openers                                                                                             
Butler has only won one BIG EAST opener since joining the conference in 2013-14. The Bulldogs went to Villanova to defeat the Wildcats 63-55 in 2018-19. This will be the third time that Butler opens the conference slate at DePaul. They also did in 2021-22 (L, 64-101) and in 2014-15 (L, 76-92).
 
10 Wins                                                                                                                 
The Bulldogs reached 10 non-conference wins before the start of BIG EAST play for just the second time since joining conference. This year's team sits at 10-3 heading into their matchup vs. DePaul and the 2018-19 team went 10-1 before the start of league play.
 
18 3-Pointers                                                                                        
The Bulldogs set a single-game program record on Sunday by hitting 18 3-pointers in the victory over Saint Francis. Eight different players made at least one 3-pointer and no Bulldog made more than four. As a team, BU shot 56.3 percent from behind the arc, making 18 of their 32 attempts. The old record of 16 was reached two times previously. BU hit 16 3-pointers at Georgetown on Jan. 11, 2014 and the 2023-24 team matched that effort with 16 against St. Thomas in game two of the Tiger Turkey Tip-Off.
 
NET Rankings                                                                                       
NET rankings were updated this week and the Bulldogs moved up nearly 20 spots to 72nd. Georgetown slipped to 102 this week, giving the BIG EAST seven programs in the top 100. All three BU setbacks this season came against top-notch competition. Texas is second in the NET rankings, Vanderbilt is ninth, and Wisconsin is 79th.
 
Makalusky Making Shots                                                                               
Riley Makalusky has scored in double figures eight times over her last nine games. Her recent streak includes 11 in the win over UT Martin, 10 at Ohio, 13 vs. Wisconsin, and 16 vs. Saint Francis.
 
Well Done Wiggins                                                                                           
Ari Wiggins has scored five points in each of her last four games, but more importantly has 11 assists and just one turnover in her last 50 minutes of basketball. She had a team-high five assists and just one turnover in 30 minutes of action vs. Wisconsin and didn't turn the ball over once vs. Saint Francis while adding a team-high six assists. Wiggins also has hit a 3-pointer in four-straight games.
 
A Look at Last Week                                                                                         
Butler lost in double overtime to Wisconsin (71-64) on Wednesday, but came back to end the non-conference slate with a 95-38 win over Saint Francis. Riley Makalusky, Lily Carmody and Lily Zeinstra led the offense averaging 14.5, 12 and 11 points respectively. The 'Dawgs shot 42 percent from the field and from 3-point range. The offense shared the ball resulting in 45 assists on 56 made field goals.
 
Strande Sidelined                                                                                             
Caroline Strande left the Wisconsin game with three minutes to play in the first half and was unable to return to action. There is no timetable for her return at this time.
 
Schedule Swap                                                                                                  
Three of Butler's first four BIG EAST games this year will be played on the road, but after their FS1 game at Marquette on Jan. 4, the Bulldogs will host four of their next five opponents at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The only road game during that stretch is a short drive over to Cincinnati to play Xavier.
 
1,000 Point Watch List                                                                                     
Three Bulldogs are closing in on 1,000 career points this year. Caroline Strande is the closest at 931. 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 862 career points and Sydney Jaynes is up to 779 points.
 
Up Next                                                                                                                 
Butler's BIG EAST home opener will be played after Christmas on Dec. 29. The Seton Hall Pirates will visit Hinkle Fieldhouse for a 2 p.m. tip. Fans can stream the BEDN game on FloSports.com.