Losing streak continues as Butler women’s basketball falls to DePaul

 

Michelle Weaver looks back as she walks onto the court of Hinkle Fieldhouse. Weaver did not appear against DePaul due to injury. Collegian file photo. 

CHRIS BROWN | STAFF REPORTER | cbbrown@butler.edu

The Butler University women’s basketball team fell to .500 overall on the season and 5-9 in conference play with a 86-68 home loss to DePaul University Feb. 9. The Bulldogs have now dropped five straight games.

Butler got off to a strong start in the contest, with four 3-pointers from redshirt junior guard Whitney Jennings in the first ten minutes helping the Bulldogs outscore the Blue Demons 25-16 in the first quarter. That hot start quickly slowed, though, with DePaul limiting Butler to just nine points in the second quarter while scoring 18 of their own to tie the game at 34 heading into halftime. 

DePaul came out of the half with an 11-0 run to start the third quarter and didn’t look back, outscoring Butler 29-14 in the frame. The Bulldogs kept better pace in the final quarter, but the Blue Demons were still easily able to hold off the Bulldogs for their fifth straight victory.

Jennings led the Bulldogs with 23 points, and converted five of 10 shots from beyond the arc. She said that the team didn’t cover DePaul’s biggest offensive threats well enough in the third quarter.

“I think they came out in the second half with a lot more energy,” Jennings said. “We didn’t do a very good job of finding their shooters, and so we let them get loose for some threes.”

Six players finished with double digit point totals for DePaul, compared to just two for Butler.

Sophomore guard Kristen Spolyar said that the Blue Demons’ variety of scoring options made it hard for the Bulldogs to come up with an effective defensive game plan.

“We [knew] that they all can shoot, so you can’t really key in on one person [and] that makes it really hard,” Spolyar said. “When they got in the paint, we were trying not to collapse so they can just kick out for the three. That was really tough.”

Spolyar finished second on the team with 16 points while also tallying three rebounds and four assists. Junior center Tori Schickel collected seven points, five rebounds, and four assists, while sophomore forward Shae Brey led the team with eight boards. Junior guard Michelle Weaver did not play due to injury.

For the game, the Blue Demons outshot the Bulldogs 45 to 42 percent from the field, while both teams shot just over 40 percent from beyond the arc. DePaul out-rebounded Butler 45-30.

The Bulldogs will look to get back on track in their final home game of the season on Feb. 11 against Marquette University.

Follow Chris on Twitter: @cbrownsports

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