First-year guard Lily Zeinstra had a career-high 13 points off the bench against UT Martin. Photo by Jada Gangazha.
DAVID JACOBS | ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | drjacobs@butler.edu
The women’s basketball team notched their eighth win of the season in a slim 70-60 victory against UT Martin.
It was a sloppy start for Butler as the Bulldogs racked up six first-quarter turnovers — a problem that has plagued the Dawgs all year — to end the quarter with a slim 15-13 lead.
The second quarter was more favorable for the Dawgs as graduate guard Kilyn McGuff scored eight points in the second period to propel the Bulldogs to a 22-14 advantage in
McGuff finished the night with 10 points and 10 rebounds to notch her fourth double-double of the season.
“Kilyn [McGuff] is the heart of our team,” Head coach Austin Parkinson said. “She’s the toughest player we have. [She] took a charge, led us in deflections and rebounds — she’s just a warrior and it spreads to everybody else. I love coaching her, and I’m sad I only get her for one year.”
Despite a 37-27 lead going into halftime, the Skyhawks would not back down without a fight. While the Dawgs cleaned up the turnovers, UT Martin started the second half on an 18-4 run to take the lead late in the third quarter.
“We didn’t defend well at all in the third quarter,” Parkinson said. “It was kind of odd tonight [because] we had a lot of scouting errors. That’s something we’ve been good at, so that was very frustrating. At the same time, we were able to regroup in the fourth [quarter] and that’s important.”
Starting the fourth quarter knotted at 49, the Skyhawks went to senior guard Kenley McCarn to get out to a 56-49 lead. However, Butler would go on a blistering 21-4 run to secure the victory and escape the upset.
“The one thing this team has done is really rallied in fourth quarters,” Parkinson said. “At Milwaukee, [versus] Boise State and then tonight. We got down five with under four to go, and we buckled down. [I am] really proud of how we got stops to find a way to win the game.”
Down the stretch, Butler leaned on first-year guard Lily Zeinstra as she nailed two crucial three-pointers late in the game as part of the fourth-quarter barrage.
“To be that clutch in those moments is huge,” Parkinson said. “She’s just so steady [and] she reminds me so much of when [junior guard] Jordan Meulemans was a [first-year]. You just trust her; she’s not taking 15, 20 shots, [but] but she is ready when it’s there. We probably don’t win the game if [Zeinstra] doesn’t play the way she did.”
The Bulldogs sit at 8-2 through 10 games but still have plenty to work on as they prepare for the rest of the season — starting with a visit to Ohio to take on the Bobcats on Dec. 8.
“We are scoring at a really high rate despite the fact that we turn the ball over,” Parkinson said. “I think our depth has been really quality; different people step up each night. [However], the one thing that keeps shooting us in the foot is the turnovers. If we don’t get better turnover-wise, it’s going to cost us some games.”
