Graduate wing Rachel Kent scored 12 points in Butler’s loss to Marquette. Photo courtesy of Butler Athletics. 

SAWYER GOLDWEIN | STAFF REPORTER | sgoldwein@butler.edu 

The women’s basketball team could not make it two straight wins, as they suffered a 59-48 defeat at Marquette on Jan. 27. 

The Dawgs were riding some positive momentum after a 90-57 drubbing of Xavier, and they carried that into the Al McGuire Center, jumping out to a 31-25 halftime lead. They could not hang on though. Marquette outscored Butler 23-8 in the third quarter and — despite the Bulldogs’ best efforts — closed out a big bounceback win after losing back-to-back games. 

For Butler, the loss was their seventh in eight games, dropping them to 1-8 in Big East play and 9-11 overall. 

Senior guard Caroline Strande led the Dawgs in scoring with 13 points. She also added four rebounds and four assists. 

Paint domination 

Paint presence was a major struggle for Butler against the Golden Eagles. The star of the day for Marquette was senior forward Liz Karlen. She owned the paint, scoring 25 points and snagging 11 rebounds. 

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs’ starting forward, first-year Cristen Carter finished with just three points and four rebounds. Junior forward Sydney Jaynes — who actually got the bulk of the minutes over Carter — put up similar stats. She scored four points and grabbed just one rebound. 

First-year guard Karsyn Norman led Butler in rebounds despite standing at just 5’6. Still, her efforts were not enough to keep Marquette from building a 37-30 advantage on the glass. That includes an eight to four margin in favor of Marquette in the offensive rebounding department. 

Despite the rebounding disparity, Marquette only scored two more paint points than Butler. Still, the lack of rebounding is a frustrating reflection of the Bulldogs’ lack of physicality, particularly throughout Big East play. 

Up next 

The Dawgs will now return to Hinkle for a three game home stand, starting with a matchup against 10-11 DePaul on Jan. 31.