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The Butler women’s basketball team will host Marquette on Sunday at 2 p.m. The contest will serve as Alumni Day for the Bulldogs as the BU coaching staff welcomes back former players for the second game this season between the Bulldogs and Golden Eagles.
GameDay
Date: Sunday, February 9, 2025
Time: 2:00 PM ET
Location: Indianapolis, Ind. – Hinkle Fieldhouse
Live Stats: ButlerSports.com (Statbroadcast)
Watch: FloSports.com
Bulldog Bits
– Kilyn McGuff recorded her 10th double-double of the season against Villanova by posting 19 points and 15 rebounds.
– McGuff leads the BIG EAST and ranks 24th in the nation in double-doubles (10).
– McGuff leads the team and ranks second in the conference in rebounds per game (8.4).
– McGuff has led Butler in rebounding 19 times this season.
– Riley Makalusky had a breakout game with 15 points, four rebounds and two steals vs. Nova.
– Ari Wiggins tied her season-high assist total with six against the Wildcats.
– Butler was credited with 20 assists on their 20 made field goals on Wednesday.
– Butler used a 13-0 scoring run to tie the game against Nova at the end of the first quarter (17-17).
– The Bulldogs are now 0-4 this season in games decided by five points or less.
– There were 11 ties and 10 lead changes in Butler’s last game.
– Butler led Wednesday’s game for 14:34 and Villanova led for 14:33.
– BU’s bench outscored Villanova’s 21-7.
– Butler leads the BIG EAST in bench points per game (23.0).
– Lily Carmody went 8-for-10 from the free throw line in her last game.
– BU leads the conference in free throw attempts (17.5) and free throws made (12.6) per game.
– BU is third in the league in rebound margin (+3.2).
– McGuff has made nine 3-pointers over her last two games and has hit multiple 3-pointers in five-straight.
– McGuff ranks fifth in the conference in minutes played per game (33.3). She has played 30+ minutes in every BIG EAST game.
BIG EAST Standings
UConn 12-0, 21-2
Creighton 11-1, 19-4
Seton Hall 8-3, 16-6
Marquette 7-4, 15-7
Villanova 7-4, 13-10
DePaul 6-5, 11-13
Georgetown 4-7, 11-11
St. John’s 3-9, 13-10
Providence 2-9, 9-15
Butler 2-10, 12-13
Xavier 1-11, 6-17
Scouting Marquette
The Golden Eagles beat St. John’s by two on Wednesday night to improve to 15-7 on the year. Skylar Forbes and Lee Volker were the leading scorers against the Johnnies going for 15 and 14 points respectively. Forbes landed on her season scoring average in the win. She’s the ninth-leading scorer in the BIG EAST and the league leader in blocked shots per game (1.6). Volker shoots 49.4 percent from the field, the third highest percentage among all BIG EAST players. She has scored in double figures in three of Marquette’s last four games including dropping 20 points in back-to-back games vs. Georgetown and Xavier. Head Coach Cara Consuegra has the Golden Eagles leading the league in blocks per game (4.4), rebound margin (6.5), rebounds per game (38.9), and 3-point percentage defense (29.3).
All-Time Series
Marquette leads Butler in the all-time series 23-9. The first-ever meeting was a Bulldog victory back during the 1985-86 campaign. Marquette however swept the Bulldogs last year and have won 10-straight over BU. Butler’s last win against the Golden Eagles came on Jan. 17, 2020. It was a 61-55 victory recorded at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Last Game vs. The Golden Eagles
Lily Carmody hit a free throw with one minute remaining to give the Bulldogs a 54-53 lead, but Lee Volker would come up with the game-winner by scoring a layup with 30 seconds left in regulation. Volker put Marquette back on top and Skylar Forbes helped seal the win with two free throws before the final buzzer. Forbes scored a game-high 21 points to go along with six rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots. Halle Vice contributed 10 points, five rebounds and two blocks for the Golden Eagles. Kilyn McGuff paced the Bulldogs with 18 points and a career-best 17 rebounds. Sydney Jaynes was the other double-digit scorer for Butler with 12 points. The contest featured nine ties and eight lead changes.
Alumni Day
Sunday will be alumni day for the Butler women’s basketball program. Nearly 40 former players will be in the stands when the Bulldogs host the Golden Eagles for a 2 p.m. tip at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Home Sweet Hinkle
Butler averages 66 points per game at home. That’s nine more points per game than when the Bulldogs play as the away team. Riley Makalusky, Sydney Jaynes and Lily Zeinstra all average three more points per game at Hinkle Fieldhouse than they do on the road. Eight of the Butler’s 12 wins this season have also been recorded at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Carter Hits 100
Cristen Carter made three field goals against Villanova to reach 100 in her collegiate career. She is shooting 58 percent from the field this year, raising her career percentage to 52 percent.
Spread the Floor
Sydney Jaynes took a career-high five 3-point field goals when Butler played at Marquette on Jan. 4. She made two that day and has 12 makes from behind the arc this season to rank fifth on the team.
Block Out
Butler outrebounded Marquette in Milwaukee 38-32. 11 of Butler’s 38 rebounds came on the offensive glass, helping BU score 11 second chance points. McGuff was clearly the driving force behind Butler’s effort with a career-high 17 boards. Lily Carmody and Riley Makalusky also stepped up to the challenge with five each.
Kilyn Reaches 1,000 Career Points
Kilyn McGuff reached 1,000 career points in the second half of Butler’s game at #6 UConn. She scored a team-high 17 against the Huskies to move her career total to 1,006. She has scored 302 points as a Bulldog and had 723 over her previous three years at Belmont.
600 Club
Kilyn McGuff grabbed 10 rebounds on Jan. 26 to push her career total over 600. McGuff has 210 rebounds this season, that’s 36 more than she had all of last year at Belmont in 33 starts. She averages 8.4 per game and is now on pace to break into the single-season top ten list in the Butler record book.
What’s Missing?
Caroline Strande and Jordan Meulemans are both out for the season. Meulemans was sidelined just days before Butler’s first game and Strande suffered a season-ending injury on Dec. 29 vs. Seton Hall. Strande was a Second Team All-BIG EAST selection last year and became the first Bulldog in program history to lead the team in points, rebounds and assists during the same season. Meulemans made 61 3-pointers last year, shooting 42 percent from behind the arc.
18 3-Pointers
The Bulldogs set a single-game program record against Saint Francis by hitting 18 3-pointers. Eight different players made at least one 3-pointer and no Bulldog made more than four. As a team, BU shot 56.3 percent from behind the arc, making 18 of their 32 attempts. The old record of 16 was reached two times previously. BU hit 16 3-pointers at Georgetown on Jan. 11, 2014 and the 2023-24 team matched that effort with 16 against St. Thomas in game two of the Tiger Turkey Tip-Off.
10 Wins
The Bulldogs reached 10 non-conference wins before the start of BIG EAST play for just the second time since joining conference. Butler went 6-2 in November and highlighted that stretch of action with a 56-46 home win over Indiana. The victory came in front of a record-setting crowd of 4,135 fans.
Up Next
Butler’s next game will be played at Georgetown on Feb. 12. It is a rare 11 a.m. tip on a Wednesday due to a Kid’s Day promotion by the Hoyas.
