Kristen Spolyar goes up for a shot. Spolyar posted a season-high 23 points in the win over St. John’s. Jimmy Lafakis/Collegian file photo. 

DREW FAVAKEH | STAFF REPORTER | dfavakeh@butler.edu

The Butler women’s basketball team collected its fourth straight Big East win to start conference play with a 66-45 victory over the St. John’s Red Storm on Jan. 6. Butler is now 14-1 on the season.

Kristen Spolyar scored a season-high 23 points and grabbed six rebounds. Katherine Strong, fresh off her first double-double of the year, had her third-highest total of the season, scoring 13 points and grabbing five rebounds.

Butler, who leads the Big East in fewest points allowed, held the Red Storm to 33 percent shooting. Most impressive defensively was Michelle Weaver, who snagged seven steals and blocked two shots. Weaver and her teammates scored 30 points off 22 forced turnovers.

The Bulldogs added another season high by scoring a blistering 28 points in the third quarter, their best quarter to this point.

That boiling-hot quarter offset the first two colder quarters, in which the Bulldogs only outscored St. John’s by a total of four points, 26-22. They ended the game with a similar 12-9 edge in the final quarter.

Butler won’t get a chance to defend its undefeated home record for a while as its next three games are away from Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs are back in action at 7 p.m. on Jan. 11 against the Xavier Musketeers.