The Butler women's basketball team will return to action Wednesday night with a 7 p.m. tip against Providence. The contest starts a homestand for BU with four of their next five games coming at home.
 
Game Day
Date: Wednesday, January 8, 2025
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Location: Indianapolis, Ind. - Hinkle Fieldhouse
Live Stats: ButlerSports.com
Watch: FloSports.com – BEDN
 
Bulldog Bits
- Kilyn McGuff had 18 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in the setback to Marquette.
- McGuff leads the BIG EAST and ranks 17th in the nation in double-doubles (7).
- McGuff leads the team and ranks third in the conference in rebounds per game (8.1).
- McGuff has led Butler in rebounding 13 times this year, including in each of Butler's last three games.
- Sydney Jaynes hit two 3-pointers at Marquette, helping her score 12 points.
- Jaynes is shooting 47 percent from 3-point range this year (8-17).
- Lily Carmody started for the first time this season at Marquette.
- Carmody had seven points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals vs. Marquette.
- There were nine ties and eight lead changes between Butler and Marquette.
- Butler led Marquette by one point with one minute remaining in the game.
- Butler outrebounded Marquette 38-32 last weekend.
- The Bulldogs lead the league in free throw attempts (19.6) and free throws made (13.4) per game.
- Butler shot 85.2 percent from the free throw line last week, making 23 of their 27 attempts.
- BU is third in the league in rebound margin (+3.2).
- Lily Carmody ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in steals, she averages 1.8 per game.
- Butler leads the BIG EAST in bench points per game (26.1).
- Cristen Carter has made more field goals this year (42 - 17 games) than all of last year (41 - 31 games).
- Carter needs eight rebounds to reach 200 in her career. She has 97 offensive and 95 defensive.
- Karsyn Norman will appear in her 50th game at Butler on Wednesday night.
 
BIG EAST Standings
Creighton 4-0, 12-3
Seton Hall 4-0, 12-3
UConn 3-0, 12-2
Marquette 2-1, 10-4
DePaul 2-1, 7-9
Villanova 1-1, 7-7
Georgetown 1-2, 8-6
Providence 1-3, 8-9
St. John's 0-3, 10-4
Xavier 0-3, 5-9
Butler 0-4, 10-7
 
Scouting Providence                                                                         
The Friars were picked third in the BIG EAST Preseason Poll, but sit at 1-3 in conference action after their first four BIG EAST matchups. They lost 51-40 at Seton Hall in their opener and stayed on the road to fall at #7 UConn on Dec. 29. Their first conference win was an overtime victory at home against St. John's. They most recently took a 60-46 loss to Creighton on Jan. 4. The Friars are one of the best teams in the BIG EAST at defending the 3-point line. They also rank second in the league in blocks per game (4.5). Olivia Olsen averages 1.4 blocks per game to lead the team. She is also the second-best rebounder in the conference, collecting 8.2 boards per game. Grace Efosa is another Friar to keep an eye one. She averages 15.1 points per game and rarely leaves the court to average 35 minutes of playing time per contest.
 
All-Time Series                                                                                                   
Providence holds a slim edge over Butler in the all-time series 13-12. These two teams met three times last year with the Friars winning two of the three. PC recorded a 10-point win at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Jan. 21, but the Bulldogs would get revenge at Alumni Hall with a 55-48 victory. The third meeting was in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament. The Friars moved on in the postseason tournament with a 75-60 victory at Mohegan Sun Arena.
 
Last Game vs. Providence                                                                             
Providence and Butler met in the first round of the conference tournament last year with BU playing as the No. 8 seed and the Friars as the No. 9 seed. Caroline Strande scored a game-high 20 points, but the Friars dominated the action in the third quarter allowing them to record a 75-60 win. PC outscored BU 21-10 in the third and would end the game with four players scoring in double figures. PC shot 53 percent from the field and 66 percent from distance (10-15). Olivia Olsen had 16 points and 12 rebounds, Grace Efosa had 13 points and Brynn Farrell finished with 11. Ari Wiggins and Sydney Jaynes each had seven points for the Bulldogs. Cristen Carter and Riley Makalusky chipped in with six each.
 
Milestones for McGuff                                                                                    
Kilyn McGuff has made 300 field goals in her career and heads into the Providence game having made exactly 200 free throws. She's still climbing towards 1,000 career points. After her double-double at Marquette, she sits at 907.
 
A Look at Last Week                                                                                         
Butler lost by four at Creighton and were edged by three points at Marquette. Kilyn McGuff had a double-double in each game, going for 15 points and 10 rebounds in Omaha before adding 18 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in Milwaukee. Sydney Jaynes and Lily Carmody were also important to Butler's offense averaging 11.5 points per game.
 
A First for Butler Women's Basketball                                                       
The Butler women's basketball game against UConn set for Saturday, Feb. 22 is officially sold out! The final home game of the regular season will set a new program single-game attendance record with more than 9,000 fans expected to be at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
 
Fast Start                                                                                                             
Butler is 8-1 this year when leading at halftime and the Friars have held a lead or been tied with their opponent at halftime in 12 of their 17 games this year. Providence is 7-5 in those games.
 
Strande To Miss Rest of the Season                                             
Caroline Strande left the Wisconsin game due to injury on Dec. 11 (ankle) and remained sidelined for the next two games. She returned to action against Seton Hall in the BIG EAST home opener on Dec. 29 and suffered a season-ending knee injury.
 
What's Missing?                                                                                                
Caroline Strande and Jordan Meulemans provided Butler with 710 points last year. Strande led the team with her 15.1 scoring average and was recognized as a Second Team All-BIG EAST selection at the end of the 2023-24 campaign. She became the first Bulldog in program history to lead her team in points, rebounds and assists during the same season. Meulemans also suffered a knee injury before the start of the regular season. She made 61 3-pointers last year, shooting 42 percent from behind the arc.
 
Starting Lineup Shuffle                                                                                   
Seven different Bulldogs have started for Butler during the start of the conference season. Kilyn McGuff, Karsyn Norman and Lily Zeinstra are the only three to start in all four.
 
18 3-Pointers                                                                                        
The Bulldogs set a single-game program record against Saint Francis by hitting 18 3-pointers. 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.
 
Schedule Swap                                                                                                  
Three of Butler's first four BIG EAST games were played on the road, but the Bulldogs will now 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.
 
10 Wins                                                                                                                 
The Bulldogs reached 10 non-conference wins before the start of BIG EAST play for just the second time since joining conference. Butler went 6-2 in November and highlighted that stretch of action with a 56-46 home win over Indiana. The victory came in front of a record-setting crowd of 4,135 fans.
 
Up Next                                                                                                                 
Butler won't play this weekend, giving them five days to prepare for Georgetown. The Hoyas visit Hinkle Fieldhouse on Tuesday, Jan. 14. Tip on FloSports.com will go up at 7 p.m.