Butler Hosts 2025 NCAA Tournament Team Columbia in Friday Night Showdown

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INDIANAPOLIS – Butler will host Columbia on Friday, Nov. 7 at Hinkle Fieldhouse with tip-off scheduled for 6 p.m. Butler opened the season with a 74-53 win over Wright State on Monday. 
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Date: Friday, Nov. 7, 2025
Time: 6PM
Location: Indianapolis, Ind. – Hinkle Fieldhouse
Live Stats: Butlersports.com
Watch: ESPN+
 
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS

Butler opened the season with a 74-53 victory over Wright State on Monday in BU’s annual Kids Day game that saw over 1,000 local Indianapolis students attend the game. 
Lily Zeinstra led the Bulldogs in scoring with 14 points on an efficient 5-for-10 shooting performance from the floor. Nevaeh Jackson followed closely behind with 13 points. 
Saniya Jackson was spectacular on defense for BU against the Raiders recording six steals in the game. That is the most steals in a game from a Butler player since Kristen Spolyar had six on Feb. 9, 2020 against Villanova. Jackson was two steals short of her career-high, eight. 
Freshman Addison Baxter stuffed the stat sheet on Monday earning eight assists to go with six points and six rebounds against WSU. Baxter’s eight assists in the contest are the most in a game from a Butler player since Nov. 23, 2021 when Zoe Jackson did it against SIUE. 
Butler went 16-18 in 2024-25 posting an 11-6 record at Hinkle. BU finished 5-13 in conference play picking up wins over Georgetown, Marquette, Xavier and Providence.
The Bulldogs earned a berth in the 2025 WNIT Tournament and advanced to the second round after defeating UIC 61-54. Lily Zeinstra led the squad with 16 points on an efficient 6-for-10 shooting performance from the floor. Zeinstra chipped in three rebounds, two assists and two steals. 
The Bulldogs have earned back-to-back WNIT berths under head coach Austin Parkinson.
Butler returns three letterwinners from a year ago and added nine new players to the team with the addition of seven transfers and two freshmen. 
BU’s transfer class includes 2023-24 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year Kennedy Langham (Samford), ESPN’s No. 60 recruit in the Class of 2024 McKenna Johnson (Minnesota), 2024-25 America East Conference Sixth Player of the Year Caroline Dotsey (Maine), twins Nevaeh Jackson and Saniya Jackson from Valparaiso, Mallory Miller (Arizona State), and Gabby Wilke (South Dakota).
Austin Parkinson enters his fourth season at the helm of the Bulldogs. Parkinson has led the squad to 42 wins in his first three seasons. The Kokomo, Indiana native earned his 266th career win against UIC in the WNIT last season. 
Assistant Coach Chelsey Perry served on Taylor’s staff last season in an assistant role before joining the Bulldog staff this past summer. BU faced Taylor in an exhibition on Oct. 28 at Hinkle Fieldhouse that saw the Bulldogs cruise to a 95-63 victory. 

 
SCOUTING COLUMBIA

Columbia posted a 24-7 record in 2024-25 boasting a 13-1 record in Ivy League action. The Lions won the Ivy League and made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after defeating No. 11 seeded Washington before falling to West Virginia in the Round of 32. 
Riley Weiss was named to the 2026 Beck Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award watch list during the preseason. Weiss, a two-time Ivy League champion, is coming off a sophomore season that saw her average 18.8 points per game while shooting 37.6 percent from 3-point range. The junior was named a First Team All-Ivy League selection a year ago.
Columbia returns 10 players from last seasons’ NCAA Tournament team. The Lions return four of their top six scorers from a season ago headlined by Weiss and Perri Page who averaged 7.3 points per game.
Columbia was picked to finish second in the Ivy League Preseason Coaches’ Poll, earning three first-place votes behind Princeton who earned 17 first-place votes.
Megan Griffith enters her tenth season at the helm of the Lions as is the winningest coach in the history of Columbia women’s basketball. Griffith and her staff were named the Ivy League Coaching Staff of the Year in 2024-25 and boasts a career record of 146-91 at Columbia. 

 
ALL-TIME SERIES

This will be the first meeting between the two sides in program history. 

 
2025-26 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TICKETS: Season tickets remain on sale, providing the best seating locations still available for the upcoming season. Contact the Butler Ticket Office at tickets@butler.edu or 317-940-DOGS (3647) to place your order. Single-game tickets for the 2025-26 Butler Women’s Basketball season are available through ButlerSports.com/BuyTickets.
 
Butler University Upgrades Iconic Hinkle Fieldhouse with Dynamic LED Video
 
Technology consultant Anthony James Partners (AJP) provided design, procurement, and construction administration services for the upgrades, supporting Butler in selecting SNA Displays to manufacture and install more than 2,700 square feet of LED video display technology, including a center hung display system, baseline LED ribbons, multiple courtside tables, and other digital signage.
 
The centerpiece of the project is a new LED center hung display consisting of four curved, 14-foot-tall video screens seamlessly connected to create a continuous 360-degree video surface. Each side features a 4 mm pixel pitch for increased pixel density and clarity. The center hung also includes custom static lettering along the top ring of the structure and a team-branded Bulldog logo facing downward toward the playing surface.
 
Other video signage includes 3-foot-high LED ribbons along the second-level fascia at both ends of the Fieldhouse, two 19-foot-long vomitory displays between the second and third levels, and eight new courtside mobile scorer’s tables equipped with LED screens. For recruitment and training purposes, the project also features two new ASPECT™ all-in-one 16:9 video screens from SNA Displays in an adjacent practice facility, directly integrated into the new control management system.
 
UP NEXT
Butler will return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 12 as BU hosts Central Michigan in a Wednesday night affair. Tip-off at Hinkle Fieldhouse is slated for 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+. Fans can purchase tickets for the game here.