The Butler Bulldogs moved to 6-2 on the year after taking a 94-59 loss to #5 Texas in the semifinals of the 2024 Gulf Coast Showcase. The Bulldogs will now face Boise State tomorrow at 5 p.m. in the third-place game.
Caroline Strande, Lily Carmody, and Riley Makalusky shouldered the scoring load for BU on Saturday night. Strande made each of her 3-point attempts to pace the trio with a team-high 14 points. Makalusky added 11 and Carmody matched that effort off the bench with 11 of her own.
BU held the Longhorn leading scorer to just three points, but Justice Carlton was the player of the game in this one with a career-high 30 points in the win. Carlton was efficient making 12 of her 15 attempts against Butler. She was one of five Texas players to score in double figures.
Texas outscored Butler by seven in the first quarter, but the Bulldogs only trailed by 10 at the midway point of the second quarter. The turning point of the game came moments after with Texas using an 8-0 scoring run to push their lead to 18.
The Longhorn scoring spree was fueled by Butler turnovers. Over 40 minutes, the ‘Dawgs turned it over 29 times which led to 39 Texas points. Points in the paint favored the visitors 54-34 and Texas would also add 22 points from the free-throw line.
The third and final day of the tournament will feature #5 Texas playing #12 West Virginia in the championship game at 7:30 p.m.
