Senior guard Ari Wiggins contributed 29 minutes off the bench in Butler’s second-round WNIT matchup vs. UIC. Photo by Jonathan Wang.
DAVID JACOBS | SPORTS CO-EDITOR | drjacobs@butler.edu
After scraping by UIC with a 61-54 win in the second round of the WNIT, the Dawgs will be traveling North to battle Purdue Fort Wayne (PFW) in the Super 16 on March 28.
Here is what you need to know as the Bulldogs look to keep their season alive against the Mastodons:
Who: Butler vs. PFW
When: March 28, 7 p.m.
Where: Gates Sports Center
How to watch: ESPN+
Strength in numbers
Between season-ending injuries and three transfer portal entries from sophomores Karsyn Norman, Riley Makalusky and Cristen Carter, the Dawgs are down to just seven available players.
In their second round win, six of the seven players logged at least 24 minutes, with junior forward Lilly Stoddard logging the fewest at 17 minutes off the bench. This is a vast difference from what the rotation looked like during the first game of the season, when head coach Austin Parkinson had 10 players getting at least 14 minutes of playtime.
Scouting the Mastodons
Boasting a 26-8 record on the season and an 18-2 record in conference play, PFW finished second in the Horizon League to eventual conference tournament champs, Green Bay.
The Mastodons are led by graduate guard Lauren Ross with 15 points per game and play 10-deep on average as they pour in 75 points per game while holding opponents to just 59. Such an impressive balance of offensive firepower and defense prowess may cause the Dawgs some serious issues.
One thing that may fall in the Bulldog’s favor will be on the boards. With second-team all Big East senior guard Kilyn McGuff still available to play, the walking double-double could be in for a career-high day against a PFW squad that loses the rebounding battle every game on average.
Coming off a dominant win over Old Dominion in the second round of the WNIT, the Horizon League runner-ups blitzed the Monarchs in the second half to have the game in hand by the start of the final period.
With the Bulldogs having played few games on the season with four full quarters of consistent basketball, it will be crucial that the Dawgs do not come out flat to start either half of play if they want to extend their season any longer.
