Butler women’s basketball upsets No. 21 Villanova for first conference win

Whitney Jennings looks to pass to a teammate. Jennings and Tori Schickel led the Bulldogs to an upset win over No. 21 Villanova in Big East action.

CHRIS BROWN | STAFF REPORTER | cbbrown@butler.edu

Three days after the Butler men’s basketball team upset a ranked Villanova team, the Butler women’s team did the same.

The Butler University women’s basketball team picked up its first conference win of the season with a 76-53 upset victory over No. 21 Villanova on the road. The Bulldogs moved to 9-5 overall on the season and 1-1 in conference play.

Butler got off to a slow start, with Villanova jumping out to an 11-2 lead in the first few minutes of action. But the Bulldogs quickly responded, coming back to take a two-point lead at the end of the first quarter. The two teams would remain close throughout the second quarter, with Butler holding on to a slim 31-29 lead at halftime.

The Bulldogs widened their lead significantly with a big third quarter, outscoring the Wildcats 27-11. Butler then outpaced Villanova by five points in the final ten minutes to pull off the upset, head coach Kurt Godlevske’s first win at Butler over a top 25 opponent.

Butler earns their first BIG EAST win in style behind a 26-point effort from Tori Schickel. Butler 76 – #21 Villanova 53 pic.twitter.com/mysAqDdTSa

— Butler W Basketball (@ButlerUWBB) January 3, 2018

Junior center Tori Schickel led Butler with a game-high 26 points and also collected seven rebounds and six assists. Redshirt junior guard Whitney Jennings tallied 16 points and six rebounds, while sophomore guard Kristen Spolyar and junior guard Michelle Weaver contributed 13 and 11 points, respectively.

For the game, Butler shot 53 percent from the field, compared to roughly 39 percent from Villanova. Butler also out-rebounded Villanova 43-19.