By Sam Weiderhaft
Butler women’s basketball came into last weekend with a 16-2 record, 6-1 in conference, and an undefeated home record. After two losses to DePaul on Friday and #10 Marquette on Sunday, Butler dropped to a 6-3 conference record, but still maintains a second place ranking in the Big East Standings.
Friday saw a Butler team come out firing with a 10-point lead after one quarter, and their storied defense doing its job. DePaul made quarterly adjustments, outscoring the Bulldogs 24-13 in the second and taking a one-point lead into halftime.
Head Coach Kurt Godlevsky had his team prepared for the second half, outscoring the Blue Demons 27-15 and leading by 11 heading into the last quarter of play. DePaul’s Chante Stonewall hit all three of her 3-point attempts late in the fourth to help her team to a 17-2 scoring run to finish the game with the score being 86-78.
Kristen Spolyar led the Bulldogs with 22 points with Tori Schickel putting up 15 more with 10 rebounds. Katherine Strong also had a strong night, finishing with 14 points. The Bulldogs fell to a 0-16 overall record against Big East powerhouse DePaul.
While Butler showed promise against a tough opponent, Sunday brought a rude awakening against a nationally ranked team.
While Marquette proved to be tough, both teams went into the locker room at halftime with the Golden Eagles holding on to a 36-31 advantage. Marquette came out strong in the third, outscoring the Bulldogs 30-13, with the game finishing 87-58 in favor of the Golden Eagles. Spolyar would yet again lead Butler in scoring with 13 points, while freshman Emilia Sexton showed promise with 11 points off the bench late in the game.
The Bulldogs are now tied with DePaul for second in the Big East rankings, while Marquette continues to dominate with a 9-0 conference record at the halfway point in the conference schedule.
Next up, the Dawgs will visit Seton Hall on Feb. 3, tip off is at 1:00 p.m. EST.
