The Butler women's basketball team is 4-0 to start the Maria Marchesano era after defeating the North Dakota State Bison 68-61 on Thursday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse. This is the first time BU has opened the season 4-0 since 2018-19. The Bulldogs will now hit the road and travel to Martin, Tenn., for a showdown with the UT Martin Skyhawks with tip slated for noon central. 
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Butler assistant coach Chelsey Perry is a UT Martin alum who played for the Skyhawks from 2017-21. She finished her career as the Skyhawks' all-time leader in career blocks (228) and ranked third with 1,963 career points. She was selected as the OVC Player of the Year as both a junior and senior (2020 and 2021). She was twice named to the All-OVC first team in addition to being an All-OVC second team honoree as a sophomore after earning OVC All-Freshman Team accolades the season before. Perry was then selected in the third round (26th overall) of the 2021 WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever, becoming the first player in UT Martin history to be taken in the WNBA Draft while ranking as the highest selection in Ohio Valley Conference history.
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GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Date: Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026
Time: 1 PM ET / 12 PM CT
Location: Martin, Tenn. / Kathleen and Tom Elam Center
Live Stats: Butlersports.com
Watch: ESPN+
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​ABOUT THE BULLDOGS

• Butler defeated North Dakota State 68-61 on Thursday evening at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Judit Valero led all scorers in the contest with 18 points. The senior added two assists and a steal to her stat line against the Bison. Her 18 points were one shy of her career-high 19 that she set with FIU last season.
• Taya Ellis (14 points, nine rebounds) and Nevaeh Jackson (11 points, five rebounds) rounded out the Bulldogs in double figures against NDSU.
• Nevaeh Jackson leads the Bulldog offense, averaging 13.3 points per game. Ellis leads the squad on the glass, pulling down 7.8 rebounds per game.
• Tamar Singer paces the Bulldog offense, dishing out 9.3 assists per game. The junior ranks second nationally in assists, with 37 to her credit. She trails only Trinity Turner (Baylor), who has 38 assists. Singer ranks third nationally in steals with 18 trailing only Daejah Richmond (Memphis, 20) and Grace Lanier (Georgia St., 19). The Haifa, Israel native also leads the team in double-doubles, with two in the first four games of the season.
• The Lipscomb game (11/5/26) was the first time in program history that three players recorded double-doubles in the same game. Singer (13 points, 13 assists), Ellis (10 points, 10 rebounds) and Wills (10 points, 10 rebounds) were the three Bulldogs who recorded double-doubles. Wills's 10 points and 10 rebounds are both career-bests for the freshman.
• The Bulldogs' win over Lipscomb marked the first time in program history that the team has scored 100+ points in back-to-back games. Butler also scored the most points in a quarter in program history against the Bisons, posting 37 in the third quarter. The 37-point quarter bettered the previous mark of 35 that BU scored against Northeastern in the 2019 WNIT tournament.
• Butler ranks top 25 nationally in multiple categories: assists per game (14th, 21.8 apg), bench points per game (21th, 37.3) and steals per game (20th, 16.3 spg).
• In the first four games of the season, the Bulldogs have scored 198 points in the paint. BU has limited its opponents to only 88 paint points across that stretch.
• Saniya and Nevaeh Jackson are the lone returners for Butler. BU added 11 new players this offseason, with four freshmen and seven transfers joining the squad.
• BU's transfer class includes 2025-26 MAC All-Defensive selection Singer (Miami Ohio), Horizon League All-Freshman selection Karina Bystry (Northern Kentucky), Lili Krasovec (Purdue Fort Wayne), Destiny Macharia (Purdue Fort Wayne), Valero (FIU), Ellis (Bowling Green) and Weisbrod (Northern Michigan). Both Krasovec and Macharia followed Marchesano from Purdue Fort Wayne to Indianapolis.
• Butler's roster has players from five different states (Indiana, Wisconsin, Maryland, Tennessee, Illinois) and five different countries (Israel, Spain, Hungary, Canada, Australia).

 
SCOUTING UT MARTIN

• UT Martin enters Sunday's game with a 2-2 record after dropping a Thursday night contest to Missouri in Columbia, Mo. The Skyhawks opened the season with back-to-back wins over Eastern Kentucky (90-89) and Christian Brothers (105-41).
• Raven Sims leads the Skyhawk offense, averaging 17.3 points per game. The senior also leads the team on the glass, pulling down 6.7 rebounds per game.
• Olivia Smith paces the offense, dishing out 4.0 assists per game.
• Kevin McMillan is in his 18th season at the helm of the Skyhawks.

 
ABOUT THE SERIES

• This will be the second meeting between the two sides in program history.
• The first matchup was during the 2024-25 season, and the game was played at Hinkle Fieldhouse. BU secured the 70-60 victory behind three Bulldogs in double figures.

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UP NEXT
Butler will return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 18, as BU welcomes the Kent State Golden Flashes to Hinkle Fieldhouse. Tip-off against Kent State is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Alexis Ayala and Will Hicks on the call. Fans can also listen to the live audio broadcast of the game with John Nolan and Owen Priscott on the call on the Butler Sports App or the Butler Athletics MIXLR page.