It was a freshman who led the Butler women’s basketball team to a win on Saturday’s Senior Day, but senior guards Devin Brierly and Kaley May were still in the spotlight.

Freshman guard Hannah Douglas had a season-high 31 points in the effort as the Bulldogs (13-16, 9-9) defeated Wright State 81-66.

Douglas was 12-for-20 shooting on the day, including four 3-point baskets.

Still, the day was really about the two Butler seniors, who participated in their final regular season game.

Photo by Reid Bruner

“We really just wanted today to be special for Devin and Kaley,” coach Beth Couture said.

May scored the first and last baskets of the game for Butler on her way to a career-high eight points.

“It was definitely an emotional day, being the last game on Hinkle’s floor,” May said. “[The first basket] got the team excited, and it was just a good moment for the entire team.”

Brierly had a solid afternoon as well, adding 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds.

The Bulldogs, following the ejection of Wright State coach Mike Bradbury after receiving his second technical foul and throwing his suit jacket into the crowd, led 35-30 at halftime.

“That could have been a big momentum shift, but we’ve handled a lot of adversity this season,” May said. “Coach just calmed us down, and we came together as a team like we have all season.”

Butler kept its composure in the second half, even as the Raiders (19-11, 12-6) kept the game close.

Leading 69-62 with just over four minutes left to play, the Bulldogs went on a 12-4 run, which was capped by a 3-pointer from May.

“I couldn’t have scripted it any better in my mind,” May said. “It was kind of like a storybook ending for me.”

The win followed a 57-52 loss to Detroit in Hinkle Fieldhouse last Thursday.

The Bulldogs were led by freshman forward Haley Howard, who scored a career-high 23 points.

Sophomore guard Jenna Cobb added 11 points, seven rebounds and four steals.

Butler begins Horizon League tournament play tonight against Illinois-Chicago in quarterfinal round of the tournament.

The Bulldogs earned the No. 5 seed, while the Flames (17-12, 10-8) hold the No. 4 seed.

Photo by Rachel Senn

The immature actions of the Dawg Pound deteriorates the value of the “Butler Way;” but the good they do off the court gives me hope that they can turn it around in time for the post season.

The Dawg Pound is one of the most underappreciated groups on campus. On a national stage they represent Butler University. Everyone knows how good the basketball program is, but a lot of schools have good teams with contradictory student bodies.

A lot of the cheers are dumb and ironically offend other teams as well as our own. For example we insult a player from Australia when we have a native of Australia on our team. Although Xavier fans traveled well from my seat in the middle rows the game felt like it was at a neutral site.

I hope that the Dawg Pound stays passionate but does not stoop to the level to where not only do opposing players flip them the bird but the rest of society who interacts with the Dawg Pound doesn’t either.

This group does many things that go unnoticed and unappreciated. The most impactful thing they have done was support “Coaches v.s. Cancer” by buying shirts with the proceeds supporting cancer research.

This hit home because the women’s basketball coach, Beth Couture underwent a previous battle with cancer.

The conscious effort to support the women’s basketball team, who has a much smaller fan base, is another good deed that shows a better side of the Dawg Pound.

The group that began 10 years  ago as a way to boost attendance at games has blossomed into something much bigger.

Although the 950 members is a fraction of the student population, they represent Butler on a larger scale. The activities they do and the way they conduct themselves portrays the school in a positive or negative light.

This is just one example of how the Dawg Pound spreads the “Butler Way.” With the success of our basketball team the Dawg Pound is Butler’s best promotional tool. When the team travels Butler is judged on the way its fans conduct themselves.

Most tournament games are on national TV so the only thing the rest of the country knows about Butler students is what they see out of the Dawg Pound.

In Butler’s last two NCAA tournament appearances, Butler fans impressed opponents and host city residents with courtesy and respect.

With the postseason tournaments approaching, whether it is the NCAA tournament or one less prestigious, the Dawg Pound must mature up and realize they are the face of Butler and must show the country the “Butler Way.”

Some might call it doing chores. Others may refer to it as a job.

But for the individuals who take on the role of student manager, they call it family.

Little is known about the Butler women’s basketball team’s two managers. They try to operate as stealthily as CIA agents for the U.S. government.

“A good manager will be invisible,” Brian Weitz, a junior first-year manager, said.

While being a team manager is an on-campus job, it is not one that draws people with a large paycheck.

“We get paid what probably comes out to about 25 cents per hour,” Weitz said.

Weitz is a transfer student. His roommate, fellow junior Evan Eichhorn, is also a manager for the team.

Eichhorn is entering his second season as a manager and said he has no regrets so far.

In his first season with the team, Eichhorn worked with 11 athletes over the course of a 34-game season that lasted just over four months.

“It feels like I have four moms in the four coaches sometimes,” Eichhorn said. “It’s the personal interactions that make this worth it. We’ve grown real close to the team.”

Weitz echoed the same sentimental feelings as his managing mentor.

“It’s the people we throw the ball back to that make it all worth it,” Weitz said.

The managers take care of everything behind the scenes.

They get the basketballs out of the locker room.

They sit in on opposing teams’ shootarounds to offer assistance.

They get towels out and wipe up sweat off the floor.

Eichhorn also runs both the shot and game clocks as well as the scoreboard during each practice.

Water bottles are also on the to-do list, as each player has her personal water bottle filled with ice water before practices and games.

A container of Gatorade is also on the checklist.

During games, one of the managers is stuck in solitary confinement filming the game while the other is sitting on the bench with the team.

Eichhorn also has the added responsibility of uploading the game film to the Butler Athletics website for other teams’ usage.

The countless hours spent by the managers doing the behind-the-scenes work to make the team’s operations flow more smoothly do not go unnoticed, however.

“It’s been an exceptional year for our managers,” coach Beth Couture said. “What I like about the managers is the passion for our program. They want to win as much as we do.”

The pay may not be great, the hours may be pressing and the appreciation may, at times, be lacking.

For Eichhorn and Weitz, these factors are of no concern. They are in it together for the team.