Butler Women’s Basketball finished the regular season in a thriller after beating Villanova 60-62 in overtime on Senior Day.
Senior Michelle Weaver’s field goal with two minutes left in overtime put Butler in the lead, 62-60. The Bulldog’s defense went to work and shut down the Wildcats until the buzzer sounded.
Butler Junior Kristen Spolyar led the offense with 22 points, while senior Whitney Jennings added 17 points for the Bulldogs.
In the first half, the Wildcats shot for 41 percent, while the Bulldogs were 36 percent from the field.
The Wildcats drained seven three-pointers during the first half and made it difficult for the Bulldogs to gain a lead.
Butler ended the first half down 28-24, but came out in the second half with intensity as Butler tied the game up at 31-31 after Jennings drained a three pointer with seven minutes to go in the third quarter.
The Wildcats would gain the lead back, but with 24 seconds in the third, Jennings found Spoylar open on the three-point line to give the Bulldogs a 45-43 lead towards the end of the third.
Villanova and Butler were tied up 45-45 to start the fourth quarter. Both teams were scrapping to find a lead and set the tempo for the last quarter.
Jennings threw up a wild shot from near half court to give the Bulldogs a four-point lead with six minutes to go in the fourth. The Bulldogs were unable to hold off the Wildcats as they climbed back to tie the game up 55-55 with three minutes remaining.
Butler took back the lead 58-57 with 35 seconds to go with one last chance for Villanova to make a play and tie the game. Wildcat junior Kelly Jekot drove to the paint for the lay up and was fouled. Jekot made just one of two free throws to tie the game at 58.
Butler would have the ball with 14.7 seconds left and one final possession to win the game. The Bulldogs handed the ball off to Jennings, whose shot would fall short as the buzzer sounded, sending the game to overtime.
The Bulldogs would strike first in overtime as Jennings added two to the scoreboard, but the Wildcats tied it up 60-60 with about four minutes to go.
Butler’s defense held their ground and denied any further points from Villanova. The Bulldogs victory over Villanova improved their record to 20-8 on the season and 11-8 in the BIG EAST.
Butler will go into the BIG EAST tournament ranked No. 3 and will play No. 6 Creighton on March 10 at 8:30pm in the quarterfinals.
Notable Senior Accomplishments: (Stats are up to date with current game)
Sr. Tori Schickel, #34, 6-1 Forward/Center
2018-19 Senior Season:
All-Time Butler Women’s Basketball Rebound Leader
Average 12.2 points per game
Average 8.9 rebounds per game
2017-2018 Junior Season:
1,000+ Career Points
All-BIG EAST First Team Selection
2016-2017 Sophomore Season:
Tallied 364 rebounds to break the Butler school record for most rebounds recorded in a single-season
Led the BIG EAST and ranked sixth in the country in total rebounds (364)
Shot 50 percent from the field (174-347) to rank third in the conference and 63rd in the NCAA
All-BIG EAST Second Team Selection
BIG EAST All-Tournament Team Honoree
Sr. Michelle Weaver, #11, 5-7 Guard
2018-19 Senior Season:
Average 7.2 points per game
.596 FT percentage
2017-18 Junior Season:
Played in 31 games, making 30 starts
Ranked 10th in the BIG EAST Conference with a 46.5 field goal percentage (93-200)
Held the 14th-best 3-point shooting percentage in the conference at 37.6 (32-85)
Shot 75.0 percent from the free throw line (39-52)
Ranked third in the conference with 57 steals
2016-17 Sophomore Season:
Ended the season with 297 total points
Ranked third in the BIG EAST Conference in steals per game (1.72)
Reached 20+ points in four games
2015-16 Freshman Season:
Played as the team’s starting point guard at the start of the year
Sr. Taylor Buford, #4, 5-11 Guard
2016-17 Sophomore Season:
Averaged 5.7 points and 2.0 rebounds per game
Appeared in 28 games, making 15 starts
Hit 27 percent of her 3-point field goals (19-69)
Pulled down 57 total rebounds, 23 offensive and 34 defensive
Recorded 20 steals, 17 assists and 11 blocked shots
Ended the season with 159 total points
2015-16 Freshman Season:
78.8 percent free throw shooter
R-Sr. Whitney Jennings, #15, 5-5 Guard
2018-19 Senior Season:
Average 14.6 points per game
87.4 FT percentage
2017-18 Junior Season:
Team leader in points (539) and assists (91)
Ranked fourth in the conference with a 16.8 scoring average
Set a new Butler record with 495 field goal attempts
Named All-BIG EAST honorable mention
Played more minutes in a single-season than any other player in program history (1,212)
Second-best free throw shooter in the BIG EAST (87-101)
Cited: STATS all from BU Sports Web Page
https://butlersports.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=7435&path=wbball
