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INDIANAPOLIS – Butler fell to the St. John’s Red Storm 58-47 on Saturday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse. With the loss, Butler slides to 9-17 on the year and 3-13 in BIG EAST play while the Red Storm improve to 20-8 overall and 10-7 in conference action.
BULLDOG HIGHLIGHTS
McKenna Johnson and Caroline Dotsey led the Dawgs with nine points apiece in the contest. They were followed closely by Mallory Miller who chipped in eight.
Saniya Jackson led the squad on the glass for the second-consecutive game, pulling down seven rebounds.
Kennedy Langham paced the offense, dishing out three assists.
Butler shot 19-for-64 (29.7%) from the floor and shot 2-for-17 (11.8%) from beyond the arc.
BU forced 23 SJU turnovers.
ST. JOHN’S HIGHLIGHTS
Sa’Mya Wyatt led all scorers with 12 points. She was followed closely by Janeya Grant who chipped in 10 for the visitors.
Daniela Abies pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.
Three different players recorded two assists for SJU.
St. John’s shot 17-for-41 (41.5%) from the floor and shot 5-for-15 (33.3%) from beyond the arc.
SJU outrebounded Butler 40-28.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both sides traded buckets to open the game as the score was even at 4-4 at the first media timeout of the game. The Dawgs and Red Storm continued to go back and forth for the rest of the quarter as neither side was able to generate a lead larger than two. At the end of the first, SJU held the narrow 15-13 advantage.
SJU opened the third on a 6-1 run but the Butler defense stood tall holding SJU scoreless for the next 3:52 of the quarter. BU was able to close the gap to three as the Red Storm held the narrow 23-20 lead with under a minute left in the quarter. SJU took the three-point lead into the break.
After trading buckets to start the game, SJU strung together a 6-0 run forcing BU to take a timeout at the 6:35 mark with the Redstorm up 31-24. SJU continued to make its shots as the visitor lead ballooned to as many as 12 (38-26) forcing Butler to take its second timeout of the quarter. After a bucket from SJU, Butler was able to hold the Red Storm scoreless for the next three minutes. SJU then put together another 6-0 run and took the 44-33 lead into the final quarter of action.
Both sides traded buckets to open the fourth before SJU held the Dawgs scoreless for the next three minutes. BU tried to claw back with a late 7-0 run, but was unable to close the gap, as the Red Storm cruised to the 58-47 victory at the final whistle.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will be back in action on Wednesday, February 18, as the Creighton Bluejays will visit Hinkle Fieldhouse in the Dawgs’ second to last home game of the season. Tip-off between the two sides is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Kelsie Kasper and Alexis Ayala on the call.
