Senior guard Kilyn McGuff ended the regular season with eight straight double-digit outings. Photo by Jonathan Wang.
DAVID JACOBS | SPORTS CO-EDITOR | drjacobs@butler.edu
Despite winning three of their last five outings, the Dawgs will be entering the conference tournament on a two-game losing streak after falling to Villanova 56-54 on Feb. 26.
It was a back-and-forth contest throughout the first half, leaving the game at an 18-18 tie with three minutes left in the second quarter. Breaking the knot in the score, the Wildcats leaned on crucial buckets from their lead guards first-year Jazmine Briscoe and sophomore Maddie Webber to go on a 7-1 spurt to end the half.
Strong third quarter
Trailing by eight points, the Dawgs leaned on senior guard Kilyn McGuff and senior forward Sydney Jaynes to pace the squad to a 21-10 advantage in the third frame.
Relying heavily on the midrange and drives — McGuff and Jaynes’ two best attributes — Butler did not attempt a single shot from beyond the arc during the dominant stretch after going 0-5 in the first half.
McGuff’s dominance
McGuff connected on two of the team’s three made attempts from beyond the arc, all coming in the fourth quarter. The first to end a 10-0 Villanova run and the second to help set up first-year guard Lily Zeinstra’s game-tying shot with 11 seconds to play — which McGuff assisted on.
In addition to the big-time shots, McGuff finished the night with 21 points and seven rebounds on 6-9 shooting from the field.
With another strong performance to end the regular season — bringing her conference average to 14 points and eight rebounds — the senior transfer all but solidified herself as an all-conference caliber player.
A look-ahead
With their seventh loss by single-digits on the season, the Dawgs finish conference play with a 5-13 record — seeding themselves at eighth for the conference tournament.
The Bulldogs will be lined up to take on St. John’s in the 8-9 game of the conference tournament on March 7 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.
