Lily Zeinstra recorded 17 points on 4-6 three-point shooting in her first career start. Photo by Jonathan Wang. 

NHU-HAN BUI | STAFF REPORTER | hbui@butler.edu 

Sophomore guard Karsyn Norman scored a three-pointer a minute into the game, and the women’s basketball team never looked back as they posted a dominant 95-38 win over St. Francis University, bringing their record to 10-3.

With graduate guard Caroline Strande out with an injury, Butler was looking for their players to step into larger roles. First-year guard Lily Zeinstra earned her first start of the season and posted 17 points while leading the Bulldogs in minutes played.

“She’s been one of our most consistent players,” head coach Austin Parkinson said. “I use the word trustworthy [to describe] her. I know what we’re going to get from her. She knows the plays and I thought she did a nice job today.”

Sophomore guard Yanessa Boyd has been a bright spot for a struggling St. Francis team, with 104 points through the last 11 games. However, Boyd was held to just three points while junior guard Marissa Shelton was the only Red Flash to record double-digit points.

The Bulldogs’ defense received a boost when they were able to contain Boyd, only allowing her to score twice.

“We’ve done a really average job the last three games of guarding the top player and tonight, there was a big emphasis on that,” Parkinson said. “We’re always better defensively if we’re able to take out their best player and we did that tonight.”

Butler finished the game with a strong showing on defense, recording 27 defensive rebounds and 14 steals. St. Francis made just four three-pointers from 11 attempts while only 14 of their 53 field goal attempts went in the hoop.

First-year guard Lily Carmody and senior guard Kilyn McGuff were equally stellar for Butler. Carmody led the team with 18 points and seven rebounds while McGuff chipped in 16 points of her own to pair with four rebounds

Butler also broke the program record for three-pointers made in a game with 18, and eight of those came in the third quarter alone. McGuff and Zeinstra led the team with four three-pointers each. With 26 assists, the Bulldogs were able to find ways to get open and create enough opportunities to break the record.

“You don’t always plan [to break a record],” Parkinson said. “But we’re a capable three-point shooting team, and because we were unselfish, we got good looks.”

The trio of Zeinstra, Carmody and McGuff is proving to be a dominant force as the team prepares for its Big East schedule. After her performance today, look for Zeinstra to earn more starts. If they can continue to play a strong game on both sides of the ball, then Butler will have little to worry about heading into the later half of the season, even with a key player out.

The Bulldogs are now looking to start their conference schedule on a high note, with their first game at DePaul on Dec. 21.