For the first time in the 2012-13 women’s basketball season, senior Becca Bornhorst stepped on the court, suited up and ready to play last Sunday against St. Bonaventure.

“I had freshman nerves,” Bornhorst said. “It was kind of funny. I talked to coach. I was super nervous. I hadn’t played in so long.”

Bornhorst battled through injuries in the 2011-12 season and started 17 games for the Bulldogs. She ranked second on the team in rebounding this season.

The only senior on the team, Bornhorst had originally opted to sit this season out and, if she was able to get the surgery done on her knee, possibly play a fifth year.

She had planned to have her surgery in October until her doctors explained she needed more work and had to postpone the surgery.

“Not being able to be physically out there was basically heartbreaking to me, you know,” Bornhorst said. “Basketball is my first love, and it’s my passion.”

Bornhorst emailed her doctor’s physician assistant to try to find out when a possible surgery could be set up.

She said she was frustrated because she would not be able to play a fifth year due to the expected recovery time of at least one year.

She asked her doctor if there was any possible way to play just a little bit, the rest of her senior year.

“I’m not going to be a starter like I was last year, but, you know, I would be a role player if they need me for a few minutes here and there and just be able to play and practice a little bit,” Bornhorst said.

Every time she steps on the court, she does risk re-injuring one or both knees again.

“To me, if I don’t do it, I’ll regret it honestly,” Bornhorst said.

Bornhorst tallied one offensive rebound in her senior year debut while playing six minutes total.

“Combining her being vocal all year and (her) high skill level makes her a key asset to our team,” junior Daress McClung said. “I honestly couldn’t be more thrilled to have her back on the floor.”

There are only two home games left for Bornhorst and the women’s team, and one will be senior night.

“Senior night will be really special for me to just go out there for a few minutes with the Butler uniform on,” Bornhorst said.  “I am just embracing every moment I have left.”

The Butler women’s basketball team will be on the road for the third time in four games when it travels to take on Saint Louis Wednesday.

The Bulldogs (15-10, 6-4) are sixth in the Atlantic 10 Conference standings.

All but one of Butler’s conference losses has come on the road.

The Billikens will be competing against the Bulldogs during their annual Education Day game at Chaifetz Arena.

Junior forward Lorreal Jones is the only Saint Louis player that averages double digits in scoring, with 11.3 points per game.

The Bulldogs have three starters who all average more points than Jones.

Junior forward Daress McClung leads Butler in scoring, averaging 16.6 points per game.

Sophomore guard Taylor Schippers averages 13.3 points per game, and sophomore center Liz Stratman posts a 11.5-points-per- game average.

The Billikens are 15th out of 16 teams in the A-10 in scoring, averaging less than 54 points per contest.

The Bulldogs rank sixth in the conference in scoring, averaging a little more than 61 points a game.

Butler is coming off a 64-46 victory over St. Bonaventure at Hinkle Fieldhouse during its Bulldogs Fight Breast Cancer game Sunday.

The ladies wore pink from head to toe, with pink uniforms and new pink Nike shoes to support the fight against breast cancer.

Butler coach Beth Couture is a breast cancer survivor herself.

The festivities were held to support St. Vincent’s Women of Hope.

Couture and her team have previously volunteered for the organization.

McClung led the Bulldogs with  17 points and nine rebounds.

Junior guard Mandy McDivitt and McClung tied for the team lead in assists with five each.

McDivitt and Stratman also added 12 points apiece.

The game also marked the return of the team’s only senior, forward Becca Bornhorst, who had not played since the Bulldogs’ final game of the 2011-12 season against the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Bornhorst recorded six minutes and one offensive rebound in her season debut.

Butler out-rebounded the Bonnies 36-29.

The Bulldogs also shot 50 percent from behind the 3-point line, going 10-for-20.

McDivitt shot 4-for-7 from three-point range.

The Butler women’s basketball team will take on Atlantic 10 Conference foe Charlotte Feb. 13 on the road.

The 49ers have a 7-1 conference record and are currently tied for third in the A-10.

The game between the Bulldogs (14-9, 5-3) and the 49ers will mark the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

A key matchup in the post will feature Butler junior forward Daress McClung and Charlotte senior forward Jennifer Hailey.

McClung and Hailey are both in the top five in scoring and rebounding per game in the A-10.

The two are tied for the lead in blocked shots per game, averaging 2.7 per contest.

Butler has split its last two games, taking down Rhode Island and then falling to George Washington 77-60 in its latest contest.

The Colonials (11-12. 5-4) out-muscled the Bulldogs 45-23 in the rebounding battle.

Butler sophomore guard Hannah Douglas matched her season-high scoring output with 13 points.

The Bulldogs defeated Rhode Island (5-17, 0-7) last Thursday 60-45.

The women’s basketball team is six games into its conference season and is currently sitting in sixth place in the Atlantic 10 conference standings.

The Bulldogs have an overall record of 13-8, including 4-2 in conference.

The two losses have come to No. 17 Dayton on Jan. 12 and St. Joseph’s on Jan. 30.

The team is 6-3 at Hinkle Fieldhouse this season and has four more home games before the A-10 tournament starts in March.

Only the top 12 teams will compete for the A-10 title.

BUTLER PLAYERS TO WATCH

Daress McClung‑the junior forward leads her team with 16.9 points per game, which is the third best in the A-10.

She averages 9.8 rebounds per game, fourth in the A-10, and leads the conference with 2.8 blocked shots per game.

McClung ranks in the top 10 in eight categories in the A-10 and has twice been named A-10 player of the week.

Taylor Schippers—The sophomore guard is the team’s second leading scorer, averaging 14.1 points in more than 34 minutes per game.

She ranks seventh in the A-10 for assists with more than four per game and leads the team with 4.2 per game.

Schippers has made 35 3-point field goals this season, the most on the team and 10th most in the A-10.

Liz Stratman—The sophomore center is the third Butler player averaging double figures in scoring with 12.1 points per game.

She has only played in 12 games this season but averages 6.8 rebounds per game.

Amanda Raker—The sophomore forward averages 5.5 points, but is shooting 60 percent from the field.

She also averages 4.7 rebounds per game for the Bulldogs.

The Butler women’s basketball team continued its winning streak last Sunday, defeating Virginia Commonwealth 65-45.

This win marked the fourth in a row for the Bulldogs (13-7, 4-1), who have won 10 of their last 12.

Although the Rams (8-12, 1-4) played close for most of the game, Butler began to pull away at the midpoint of the second half.

After stretching their lead to eight at the 10-minute mark, the Bulldogs never looked back, outscoring VCU 24-12 from that point on.

Junior forward Daress McClung led the Bulldogs with a game-high 25 points, nine rebounds and five steals.

“I felt like we brought a lot of energy,” McClung said. “We really focused in on what we were working on.”

Coach Beth Couture said she was uneasy about how her team would handle playing against the Rams’ zone defense.

“I was a little nervous going into the game, knowing they play so much zone,” Couture said.

However, McClung had no problem scoring against the zone-heavy VCU squad.

She shot 56 percent from the field, including three 3-pointers.

Junior guard Mandy McDivitt contributed 10 points and four assists.

“We just knew that if we had our heads up, somebody was going to be open,” McDivitt said.

Sophomore center Liz Stratman was also effective, totaling 10 points, nine boards and four blocks for the Bulldogs.

Stratman has been a difference-maker for the Bulldogs this season.

Since she became eligible to play in December, Butler has posted a 9-2 record with Stratman on the floor.

Stratman, a transfer from Xavier, was forced to sit out the first 10 games of the season.

The team was 5-5 before her arrival.

The Bulldogs are tied with Fordham for second in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Butler faces a tough test in their next matchup, a road game versus Saint Joseph’s.

The Hawks are 13-5 overall and 4-0 in conference play.

The game is set to tip off at 7 p.m. tonight.

On the heels of a vital win against Xavier Thursday night, Butler women’s basketball (11-7, 2-1) faced La Salle (5-13, 1-2) Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia. The Bulldogs won their second consecutive game 59-42.

Junior forward Daress McClung led the team in scoring with 19 points and five assists and was stellar on defense as well with seven blocks and three steals. Sophomore center Liz Stratman continued her hot streak, draining 12 points in just 20 minutes of play. Sophomore guards Taylor Schippers and Hannah Douglas sank nine points.

On Thursday, the Bulldogs won a back-and-forth game against Xavier (6-11, 0-3) at Hinkle Fieldhouse 71-67.

The Bulldogs have a long trek to Massachusetts for their next game Wednesday night.

The Butler women’s basketball team is looking to continue its winning ways as it travels to Bowling Green today.

The Falcons (4-3) are coming into the contest on a one-game win streak after beating Colorado State 71-49 last Saturday.

Bowling Green is historically one of the top mid-major women’s basketball programs in the country. Under former coach Curt Miller, the team has won 74 percent of its games between 2001 and 2012.

The Bulldogs (3-4) and Falcons have split the all-time series, with each team winning three games. The series dates back to 1998, when the two teams split a pair of meetings. Butler coach Beth Couture is 1-2 in her career against the Falcons.

Last year, Bowling Green earned a 71-61 victory over the Bulldogs.

Butler is coming into today’s game off a 65-59 victory over Eastern Michigan (1-5) at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Nov. 28.

Junior Daress McClung scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to help Butler get the win. She also added four blocks.

Sophomore Taylor Schippers chipped in with 15 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Bulldogs.

Both McClung and Schippers are transfers playing in their first season in a Bulldog uniform. The two have led the team in scoring in all seven games this season.

McClung said it wasn’t easy sitting out a season but credits her teammates for helping her get back into the action.

“It’s hard to get back in your groove when you’re coming in a situation like that, but everyone has been working hard,” McClung said. “This game tonight showed us that we may not do everything right, but we can still pull out a win.”

Schippers scored 10 of her points in the second half and, along with sophomore Hannah Douglas, helped hold the lead for Butler down the stretch.

With less than six minutes left in the second half, Schippers made a jump shot that tied the game at 50.

She followed with another basket that would end up giving Butler the lead for good.

The Bulldogs finished the game on a 15-9 run, including five clutch free throws from Schippers and Douglas in the waning minutes of the game to close the door on Eastern Michigan.

“It was one of those games that you just have to grind out,” Couture said. “We got that six-point lead and were able to hold on.

“In our women’s basketball program any win is a good win.”

Douglas finished in double-figures for Butler on 4-of-9 shooting and added five rebounds.  Freshman Katie Brewer added nine points off the bench in her 22 minutes of play.

Couture said she was happy with the play from her bench.

“I felt like Brewer had a great game for a freshman,” Couture said. “We’re playing a lot of young kids, and they’re getting a lot of valuable time.”

Transferring from one school to another midway through college can be exasperating. Add to the process the complications of being a full-time student-athlete, and individuals have an entirely new challenge on their hands.

Butler student-athletes who have transferred from other schools can attest to this.

Junior baseball first baseman Jimmy Risi referred to his transfer process as “an emotional time,” describing his transition from one school to another in the span of 48 hours. Despite deciding early on that she would be at Butler, sophomore women’s basketball player Daress McClung said the process can be “very stressful,” especially if one does not know what school to attend.

While not everyone has to go through such a quick or tolling jump, the struggle is evident for both incoming and outgoing students.

There are a few key reasons that a transferring student-athlete would run into problems changing institutions.

Most of these—such as low grade point averages and missing credits—are on a student’s own account.

Sometimes, there are more challenging issues.

In order for Butler to be able to speak with a potential transfer student, their previous institution has to grant permission to contact.

The following release of the athlete can make things even more complicated.

“At Butler, we feel like we want to do what’s in the best interest of our students,” Associate Athletic Director Beth Goetz said. “If that means their continued participation and attendance at Butler, that’s great. If it is someplace else, then we are typically supportive of that.

“We have not denied anyone’s permission to contact at all.”

Sometimes, an institution will not release a student, which often leads to an array of problems, appeals and hearings.

Regular NCAA rules must also be considered to determine if a student can start competing immediately, has to sit a year or, in the worst case scenario, sit two years.

McClung, for example, would have had to sit out two years if she had transferred from Cincinnati to another Big East school.

“They have different rules that make it nearly impossible for kids to transfer,” McClung said.

The basic rule is that athletes must sit a year unless they meet an exception.

In-league transfers are more complicated, and sometimes schools will refuse to release an athlete simply because they do not want students following them.

Even rivalries can come into play. Recently, a transfer from Ohio was almost not released because he intended to go to Illinois, a rival institution.

Sophomore soccer player Jamie Vollmer was fortunate enough that he did not have to sit a season after transferring from Butler to Indiana.

He transferred from Butler after his first year, asking for permission to contact four schools. He was allowed to speak with three, with the exception being North Carolina State.

N.C. State is where former Butler men’s soccer coach Kelly Findley is currently employed.

“There was just a lot of uncertainty and unanswered questions,” Vollmer said. “I just decided that I would look around. My transfer was athletics-based, but I also wanted to do physical therapy (a program which Butler does not offer). I decided I could be more successful transferring to IU.”

Vollmer, who plays under scholarship at Indiana, said Butler told him they did not want the whole team jumping to N.C. State after Findley left.

Matt Hedges, a former teammate of Vollmer, also transferred the year Findley left.

Hedges jumped to North Carolina and now plays for Major League Soccer team FC Dallas.

“I was allowed to appeal, but I just thought better of it and didn’t want to deal with it,” Vollmer said. “Besides that, everything went smoothly.”

Goetz said the athletics department’s general philosophy is to help transferring athletes in all cases.

“I don’t even need to know why you want to transfer, but we may ask because we want to continue to get better,” Goetz said.

For the most part, incoming Butler transfers said the same thing: Coaches are generally cooperative but wish their athletes would not leave.

Some students leave their schools because of academics, some leave for exposure and some leave to be back home.

However, they all go through the same process to get to their new institution.

“I loved my school and my friends and everything like that,” McClung said, “and I was playing. But Butler really cares about its players. They want me to get a better education.  I just felt it would be better to transfer.

“This is the best decision I think I’ve made as a whole, and I’ve made some pretty big decisions.”

The Butler women’s basketball team typically has a challenge recruiting top athletes in a state known for its hoops history.

But this year has been different.

In addition to incoming freshmen, coach Beth Couture recently attained two transfers, 6-foot-3 freshman forward Elizabeth Stratman (Xavier) and 6-0 junior forward Daress McClung (Cincinnati), each of whom has already begun to train with the Bulldogs.

“We had strongly recruited both of them,” Couture said. “We followed Daress through high school, and we were first to offer Liz a scholarship her freshman year.”

Stratman averaged 13.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game as a four-year starter at Heritage Christian in New Palestine. She also helped lead the Eagles to back-to-back state championships in 2008 and 2009 and received All-State honors her senior year.

Stratman

Stratman, whose father played football at Butler, participated in 12 games at Xavier this season, averaging 3.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per contest.

McClung, a Lawrence North graduate, averaged 14 points and nine rebounds per game during her junior season. In the same year, McClung was part of the state-winning Amateur Athletic Union Indiana Elite basketball team.

While at Cincinnati, McClung played in 26 games over two seasons. She averaged eight points per game in the team’s first four contests her sophomore year before missing the remainder of the season because of an ankle injury that required surgery.

In her only full season with the Bearcats, McClung started nine contests and averaged five points per game. She also recorded 22 steals and 17 blocks.

“[Daress and I] had played together since seventh grade,” Butler junior forward Liz Jennings said. “I know what she’s capable of, and that experience with a Big East team will bring a spark.

“She’s been doing well in practice and is already helping us improve each day.”

Jennings had positive things to say about Stratman as well.

“Liz came from a really good program at Heritage Christian,” Jennings said. “Her fundamentals alone will be a huge asset, and her knowledge of the game will definitely help us get to the next level.”

Through their own selection processes, McClung and Stratman chose Cincinnati and Xavier, respectively, only to end up back in Indianapolis.

“Daress had a commitment to go to Cincinnati,” Couture said, “but we had a relationship already with her, and she decided she wanted to come to Butler.”

McClung

Stratman was in the same position but changed her mind on where she wanted to be after one semester at Xavier.

“We were fortunate,” Couture said. “They just kind of ended up on our doorstep.”

McClung and Stratman won’t be able to play until next year due to NCAA compliance rules.

“I understand the rules, but it is frustrating,” Jennings said. “The good thing is that, since Liz transferred halfway through the school year, she’ll be eligible right before conference [play].”

Despite having to wait, Couture is optimistic about the transfers’ potential effect on the team.

“They will definitely help us,” Couture said. “They’re both such strong post players, and they’ve played against great competition.”

by Allie Qualls

Seats, scoreboard, court, two basketball goals: all of these are essential parts of any college basketball arena.

Of course some arenas have extra perks, such as special effects lighting and jumbotrons, but most players would say it is not the arena’s amenities that make it their favorite place to play.

For Butler senior women’s basketball player Terra Burns, it’s about the people who contribute to the atmosphere.

“My favorite place to play in is Hinkle, just because of its history,” Burns said. “And I like having the band there during home games.”

Most athletes would tell you their home court is where they like to play the most. For the Butler Bulldogs, home court is Hinkle Fieldhouse.

“It’s like a second home,” Butler sophomore women’s basketball player Sarah Hamm said.

Hinkle Fieldhouse has been home to Bulldogs since it was built in 1928 and is known for being one of the most historical sports arenas in the country.

The students and athletes said they do not take this for granted.

“I would say my favorite place to play is Hinkle,” senior women’s basketball player Devin Brierly said. “There is so much history in Hinkle, and it’s a privilege to play there.”

But, where do the Bulldogs like to play when they are away from Hinkle?

Brierly said her favorite away location is Kress Event Center, home to the Green Bay Phoenix.

“They always have an awesome atmosphere with the gymnasium packed,” Brierly said. “It’s so fun to play in front of that many people. They are also one of our biggest rivals.”

Sophomore transfer Daress McClung enjoyed her experience playing in the massive 721,762 square foot KFC Yum! Center, located in Louisville, Ky.

“It is very modern, up to date with its seating patterns and gym floor design,” she said. “The arena is built around the gym floor with heightening seats, continuously going up from gym floor level up.

“Its an amazing atmosphere due to the diehard fans.”

The men’s basketball team has extensive road experience thanks to multiple NCAA tournament appearances and back-to-back appearances in the National Championship game.

Seniors Ronald Nored and Garrett Butcher said they like to play in NFL arenas because it means they are back in the Final Four, and, like any dog, once they have gotten a taste of something they like, they want more.

“The atmosphere is unbelievable,” Nored said of playing in the large arenas.