Sydney Jaynes led the team with 14 points against St. John’s. Photo by Andrew Buckley.
DAVID JACOBS | SPORTS CO-EDITOR | drjacobs@butler.edu
The women’s basketball team went one-and-done in the Big East conference tournament at the Mohegan Sun Arena, falling 66-50 against St. John’s.
Butler came out hot to start the game, leading 16-10 after the first quarter and 33-28 at the half after battling in the second period. However, the second half would be a different story, as a 21-11 third-quarter advantage for the Red Storm pushed them into the driver’s seat in the game.
“[It was a] frustrating game in the sense that I thought we prepped really well,” Head Coach Austin Parkinson said. “I thought the kids came out with the right mindset, really fired up to play.”
Senior forward Sydney Jaynes was impressive throughout the first half with nine points but would finish in 14 points on 6 of 14 shooting — going 2 of 9 from the field in the second half alone.
“She was playing in a lot of pain today,” Parkinson said. “She was in a boot before, but she wanted to be out there and give her best. We needed her to have a good game for us to compete. She was one of the original players, [a] four-year player here at Butler. Once a Bulldog, always a Bulldog. We’re really proud of her.”
The Dawgs failed to have a real secondary scorer step up to help Jaynes, with first-year guard Lily Zeinstra being the next best with 11 points on 4 of 5 shooting. A collective 41% from the field for the Bulldogs did not help the cause, either.
However, it would have taken the best shooting performance of the season to top the Red Storm’s blistering 58% clip from the field while scoring 24 points off of turnovers.
“St. John’s creates a lot of those problems,” Parkinson said. “They’re extremely athletic and quick [which led us to] have a tough time guarding the ball one-on-one.”
Post-season uncertainty
Finishing the season with a 15-17 record, the Dawgs end their roller coaster of a season with the same record they had last year, which earned them a bid into the WNIT.
With this year’s team boasting a slightly stronger resume with non-conference wins over Indiana and Boise State, it should not be a surprise if Butler hears its name called on March 16 during the WNIT Selection Show.
The Bulldogs could also end up in the WBIT, a comparable-tournament to the WNIT.
Ultimately, this season will be one filled with ‘What-Ifs’ for the Dawgs as seven single-digit losses and two season-ending injuries greatly impacted the trajectory Parkinson had the program going in his third year.
“We’ve had a lot of injuries this year,” Parkinson said. “They’ve maintained a positive attitude and positive work ethic — that’s all I can ask for.”
