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CINCINNATI, Ohio – Butler fell to the Xavier Musketeers 63-59 on Sunday afternoon at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. With the loss, Butler slides to 9-13 on the season and 3-9 in BIG EAST play while Xavier improves to 11-11 overall and 4-9 in conference action.
BULLDOG HIGHLIGHTS
Caroline Dotsey led the Bulldogs in the contest with 14 points on an efficient 6-for-10 shooting performance from the floor. McKenna Johnson rounded out the Bulldogs in double figures with 10 points in the contest.
Saniya Jackson led the squad on the glass, pulling down five rebounds.
Addison Baxter paced the offense, dishing out four helpers in the contest.
Butler shot 22-for-54 (40.7%) from the floor and shot 8-for-28 (28.6%) from behind the arc.
Butler forced 23 Xavier turnovers, marking the 22nd time in the last 25 games that the Dawgs have forced their opponents to commit double digit turnovers.
XAVIER HIGHLIGHTS
Vivien Nejasmic and MacKenzie Givens led the Musketeers with 19 and 18 points, respectively. Mariyah Noel rounded out the Musketeers in double figures chipping in 11 points in the contest.
Savannah White led XU on the glass pulling down eight rebounds in the contest.
Nejasmic paced the offense with five assists.
Xavier shot 26-for-53 (49.1%) from the floor and shot 6-for-16 (37.5%) from beyond the arc.
XU outrebounded Butler 32-29.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Neither side was able to generate much offense early in the contest, as the Musketeers held a narrow 5-3 advantage at the media timeout of the first quarter. The Xavier lead ballooned to as many as nine (14-5) at the end of the first, as the Musketeers finished the quarter on a 9-2 run.
Butler was able to generate more offense in the second quarter, scoring nine points in the first five and a half minutes of action. The Musketeer offense did not waver, as the home side responded to every Bulldog bucket with a score of their own. XU took the 30-19 advantage into the break.
Both sides traded buckets to start the third quarter as Butler was unable to close the gap early in the frame. BU was able to generate some stops down the stretch, cutting the XU lead to seven with just under three minutes left in the quarter. Xavier took the 47-35 lead into the final quarter of action.
Both sides traded buckets at the start of the fourth, but the Dawgs were unable to get the stops they needed as the Xavier lead stood at 14 with just over six minutes left. BU put Xavier under immense pressure over the final six minutes, as the Dawgs cut the deficit to six (56-50) with just under two minutes left in the game. Butler was within five with under a minute left, but was unable to finish the comeback, dropping the contest, 63-59.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will be back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 4 as the Villanova Wildcats will visit Hinkle Fieldhouse for a midweek showdown. Tip-off at Indiana’s Basketball Cathedral is slated for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Kelsie Kasper and Alexis Ayala on the call.
