The Bulldogs will be in Athens this weekend to play Ohio on Sunday afternoon. The 1 p.m. tip on ESPN+ will be the fifth meeting between the two programs.
 
GameDay
Date: Sunday, December 8, 2024
Time: 1:00 PM EST
Location: Athens, Ohio - Convocation Center
Live Stats: OhioBobcats.com
Watch: ESPN+
 
Bulldog Bits
- Butler is the first BIG EAST school to reach eight wins this season.
- Lily Zeinstra led Butler in scoring for the first time in her career on Thursday night (13 points).
- Zeinstra and Caroline Strande sparked a 13-0 fourth quarter scoring run to outscore the Skyhawks 21-11.
- Zeinstra went 3-for-4 from 3-point range to lead BU from behind the arc.
- Ari Wiggins has been great from 3-point range this year making 75% of her attempts (6-8).
- Karsyn Norman had a season-high nine points, four assists and zero turnovers in 22 minutes vs. UT Martin.
- Norman ranks fourth in the league in assist to turnover ratio.
- Kilyn McGuff recorded her fourth double-double of the year vs. UT Martin with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
- McGuff leads the BIG EAST in double-doubles.
- McGuff needs seven rebounds to reach 500 in her collegiate career.
- McGuff leads the team and ranks fifth in the conference in rebounds per game (7.2).
- McGuff needs just four more 3-pointers to reach 100 in her career and Strande is five shy of 100.
- Strande ranks ninth in the BIG EAST in points per game with her 15.6 scoring average.
- Strande ranks third among all BIG EAST players in made 3-pointers (20).
- Butler leads the BIG EAST in bench points per game (28.0).
- Cristen Carter ranks third in the league in blocked shots (14) and is sixth in blocks per game (1.4).
- The Bulldogs lead the league in free throw attempts (20.6) and free throws made (14.7) per game.
- Butler has attempted 20 or more free throws in four-straight games and seven times overall.
 
BIG EAST Standings
Creighton 1-0, 6-2
UConn 0-0, 7-0
St. John's 0-0, 7-1
Butler 0-0, 8-2
Marquette 0-0, 5-2
Seton Hall 0-0, 5-2
Villanova 0-0, 5-2
Georgetown 0-0, 5-3
Providence 0-0, 5-5
DePaul 0-0, 3-6
Xavier 0-1, 4-4
 
Scouting Ohio                                                                                      
The Bobcats are 2-4 at the start of the season with victories over George Washington and Ohio Christian. They are averaging 61 points per game while allowing 69. Head Coach Bob Boldon took over the Bobcat program prior to the 2013-14 season and has become the winningest coach in program history, reaching the 100-win mark faster than any other Bobcat women's basketball coach. This year's team takes more 3-pointers than any other Mid-American Conference team. Bailey Tabeling leads the team in makes (13) and attempts (54). She averages 11.7 points per game and Kennedi Watkins leads the team at 14.8 ppg.
 
All-Time Series                                                                                                   
Butler leads Ohio in the all-time series 3-1. BU lost at Ohio in the first-ever meeting back in 2006 by the final score of 84-53. Their first win over Ohio was in the 2007 season opener (59-58) and their last was a 69-49 win at Hinkle Fieldhouse just one year ago.
 
Last Meeting vs. Ohio                                                                        
Butler dominated the action against Ohio last year and would enjoy a 38-16 halftime lead before claiming a 20-point win. They won the game by shooting 48 percent from 3-point range. BU made 12 of their 25 attempts, making at least two in each quarter. Butler's defense also limited Ohio to just 29 percent shooting, including 20 percent from distance (6-30). The contest was the final non-conference matchup on the Bulldog schedule.
 
NET Rankings                                                                                       
The first NET rankings came out December 1st and the Bulldogs were listed at 64th. UConn leads the league at No. 4 and seven BIG EAST schools appear in the top 100.
 
History Has Been Made                                                                                  
The Bulldogs won six games during the month of November for the first time in program history. Head Coach Austin Parkinson guided BU to four November wins in his first season with the program and five in 2023-24. BU also won five games during the opening month of the season in 2018-19 and 2019-20.
 
Shooter's Shoot                                                                                                
Lily Zeinstra is shooting 63 percent from the field (19-30), 57 percent from 3-point range (11-19) and 87 percent from the free throw line (7-8) over her first 10 games at Butler.
 
Makalusky Making Shots                                                                               
Riley Makalusky has scored in double figures five times over her last six games. She had 11 in the win over UT Martin and tied her season-high rebound total with four.
 
Freebies                                                                                                               
Butler made 17 of their 20 free throw attempts to shoot a season-best 85 percent from the free throw line in Thursday night's win. The Bulldogs were +13 from the charity stripe vs. the Skyhawks.
 
Winning Ways                                                                                      
Butler is undefeated this year when they are up at halftime (6-0), when they shoot more free throws than their opponent (7-0), and when they outrebound their opponent (7-0).
 
Strande Makes Gulf Coast Showcase All-Tournament Team
Caroline Strande averaged 15 points per game in Florida during a three-game stretch in the Gulf Coast Showcase. She shot 47 percent from the field (16-34) and 35 percent from 3-point range (5-14). Strande only needed eight in the win over Santa Clara, but poured in 14 vs. #5 Texas. She erupted for 23 in the victory over Boise State.
 
Parkinson Named to 2025 Silver Anniversary Team               
Austin Parkinson was named to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame's 2025 Silver Anniversary Team on Tuesday. The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Board of Directors selected eighteen men based on their outstanding accomplishments as a senior basketball player 25 years ago. Parkinson averaged 20.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 8.5 assists and 3.6 steals as a senior at Northwestern H.S.
 
BIG EAST Play Begins Dec. 21                                                         
Butler only has three non-conference games left on the 2024-25 schedule. The only road game during this stretch is the upcoming contest at Ohio. BIG EAST play starts Saturday, Dec. 21 when Butler travels to Chicago to play DePaul at 3 p.m.
 
Home Sweet Hinkle                                                                                         
The Bulldogs are undefeated at home with a 5-0 record. Wins have come against Chicago State, Indiana, Indiana State and UMass Lowell, and UT Martin. All five victories were double-digit wins.
 
1,000 Point Watch List                                                                                     
Three Bulldogs are closing in on 1,000 career points this year. Caroline Strande is the closest at 915. 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 826 career points and Sydney Jaynes is up to 757 points.
 
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 close out their non-conference slate with a pair of games at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Wisconsin will visit Indianapolis on Wednesday, Dec. 11 and Saint Francis will follow on Dec. 15. The midweek matchup will tip at 7 p.m. and the weekend game will start at 1 p.m.