The women’s basketball team’s bench was thin against UIC due to transfers and injuries. Photo by Jonathan Wang.
DOROTHY LAKSHMANAMURTHY | STAFF REPORTER | dlakshmanamurthy@butler.edu
After a tight matchup, the women’s basketball team came away with a 61-54 win against the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) in the second round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT).
In securing this victory, the Bulldogs defied the odds of their shortened seven-player roster. Graduate guard Caroline Strande, junior guard Jordan Meulemans and first-year forward Mckenzie Swanson sat out from injuries, while sophomore guards Karsyn Norman and Riley Makalusky and sophomore forward Cristen Carter were absent due to their announced intent to enter the transfer portal.
To tackle this player shortage, headcoach Austin Parkinson made an extra effort to keep players in constant rotation throughout the game.
“Every [player] there today was completely for the team,” Parkinson said. “They did a great job of rotating in and out to keep everybody fresh. When each of them went into the game, they went into battle. They each did something positive to help the team.”
Each of the seven players put points on the board for the Dawgs, with first-year guard Lily Zeinstra leading the way with 16 points.
Even first-year forward Jocelyn Land had to step up into the starting lineup for the first time. Parkinson noted the significant contributions she made on the court.
“She has always shot the ball well,” Parkinson said. “I loved her aggressiveness out there. The 13 points she got us from the four-spot was huge for us, and I think she is just going to get even better.”
The game remained close through the entire matchup, but Butler managed to stay ahead for the rest of the game after breaking the 11-11 tie in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs also accumulated 18 assists to only 10 turnovers. This is the team’s lowest turnover count since their matchup with Saint Francis on Dec. 15.
Parkinson also adds that this assist-to-turnover achievement is even more significant against a physically strong team like UIC.
“[UIC] was really physical and we knew that was going to be tough for us,” Parkinson said. “We played a lot of teams this year that got us on that end and made us turn the ball over, but I am really proud of the team for being locked into what was going on out there on the court.”
The Dawgs will now advance to the third round of the WNIT, for which their opponent will be solidified after the results of the second-round matchup between Purdue Fort Wayne and Old Dominion on March 25.
