First-year guard Karsyn Norman scored 10 points in 33 minutes off the bench. Photo by Grace Hensley. 

DAVID JACOBS | STAFF REPORTER | drjacobs@butler.edu 

The women’s basketball team suffered their third straight loss against the No. 22 Creighton Bluejays on Feb. 4, 75-65. 

After a great first half led by junior forward Sydney Jaynes with 10 points, Butler was able to get out to a 37-33 lead. However, a 21-2 run to start the second half left Coach Parkinson’s squad in a much too familiar spot. 

In now five of their thirteen losses the Dawgs have held a second half lead or were within two points of their opponents. In each instance, Butler would eventually give up a double-digit scoring run en route to a grueling loss. 

The good 

For many of these losses, there is often a lot of searching needed to find some positives to cling onto. However, with this loss it is hard to find a flaw for 34 of the 40 minutes of play. 

After her dominant first half, Jaynes continued to pace the Dawgs with 15 points. While first-year forward Riley Makalusky added 11 points and first-year guard Karsyn Norman, senior guard Caroline Strande and graduate wing Rachel Kent all chipped in 10 points each. 

Turning the ball over just nine times, the Bulldogs maintained good offensive efficiency, shooting just over 46% from the field and over 53% from behind the arc. 

Defensively, Butler showed great energy and effort in the first half and continued to play hard throughout the game. Totaling six steals and four blocks, this was the most disruption they have caused an offense since they had 10 steals and five blocks against Providence. 

The third quarter 

As mentioned, the second half started with a strong 21-2 run by the Bluejays that put the Dawgs behind the eight-ball. 

During the impressive run, Creighton looked like a top-ranked team in the country. With senior forward Emma Ronsiek and senior guard Lauren Jensen with 26 and 19 points respectively, the Dawgs had no answer for the veteran duo. 

The Bulldogs started to overcommit offensively and defensively during the run and looked like a shell of their first half selves. 

After a timeout down 13 points, Butler was able to regather themselves and start to get their shots to go offensively. But, without any significant runs the Dawgs fell short once again. 

Up next 

The Dawgs are back in Hinkle Fieldhouse on Feb. 9 for a showdown with St. John’s, as they look to get a second Big East win under their belt.