INDIANAPOLIS – The Bulldogs never trailed the Musketeers on Wednesday night on their way to recording their fourth-straight BIG EAST win. Caroline Strande led BU to an 84-46 victory over Xavier behind a game-high 17 points and the Bulldogs would knock down 15 3-pointers while shooting 46 percent from distance to land in the win column. The outcome moves Butler to 13-13 overall with a 5-10 record in the conference.
 
Sydney Jaynes came off the bench to score Butler's first points of the night and the two teams would be deadlocked at 2-2 at the first media timeout. A wave of 3-pointers would follow as Butler had four different players dial up from long distance to give the team an 18-13 lead after the opening quarter.
 
Xavier used a 6-0 run early in the second frame to trim the deficit to just one point at 20-19. The Bulldogs called a timeout, regrouped, and got 3-pointers to fall from Rachel Kent and Ari Wiggins extending the lead to 28-21. Wiggins highlighted the first half by going 3-for-3 from 3-point range helping Butler enjoy a 31-24 advantage at halftime.
 
Butler scored the first eight points of the second half and would move forward to win the third quarter 26-7. The Bulldogs shot 64 percent from the field during that 10-minute stretch and outscored Xavier 14-2 over the final five minutes.
 
Jordan Meulemans drilled two 3-pointers to open up the scoring for BU in the fourth. Those were two of 15 made 3-pointers in the game for the Bulldogs, just one shy of their season-high and school record. Butler won the fourth quarter 27-15 and ended the game on a 15-5 scoring run.
 
Inside the Box Score
- Caroline Strande had 17 points, four rebounds, and three assists
- Rachel Kent led BU with six rebounds while scoring 15 points
- Riley Makalusky supplied Butler with 13 points, four boards and three assists
- Ari Wiggins went 3-for-3 from behind the arc to score 11 points
- Wiggins had a team-high six assists and just one turnover
- Sydney Jaynes impacted the game with eight points and two steals
- Jordan Meulemans made three 3-pointers to net nine points
- Butler shot 53 percent from the field and 46 percent from behind the arc
- Five different Bulldogs hit at least two 3-pointers in the game
- Aanaya Harris led Xavier with 14 points
- Mackayla Scarlett added 10
- Xavier is now locked into the No. 11 seed for the upcoming BIG EAST Tournament
 
Up Next
Butler will be in Washington, D.C. this weekend to play Georgetown on Saturday at 2 PM.