The Bulldogs tipped off regular season play with a 21-point win over the Raiders. Photo by Drew Kosmak.
DOROTHY LAKSHMANAMURTHY | ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | dlakshmanamurthy@butler.edu
With energy high inside Hinkle Fieldhouse as many local school groups filled the stands for Kids Day, the women’s basketball team opened its 2025–26 regular season with a commanding 74–53 win over Wright State on Nov. 3.
Head coach Austin Parkinson’s squad carried its momentum from last week’s exhibition victory over Taylor into the season opener, using balanced scoring and defensive pressure — mixed with the Kids Day environment — to pull away from the Raiders.
“It’s always fun to start the year with that kind of atmosphere,” Parkinson said. “We had a lot of kids in the crowd, and our players fed off that energy. You could really feel it in the building.”
After a sluggish first quarter that ended tied at 16, Butler found its rhythm in the second. The Bulldogs’ defense tightened up, holding Wright State to just eight points in the period while using a 20-point quarter of their own to seize control. From there, Butler maintained its momentum, outscoring the Raiders 58–37 over the final three quarters to secure the win.
“These first games can be tricky because you don’t have much film, especially since Wright State didn’t play an exhibition,” Parkinson said. “We didn’t come out quite ready defensively, but once we settled down, our defense really picked up. From the second half of the first quarter until the last minute of the game, I thought our defense was pretty good.”
Sophomore guard Lily Zeinstra paced the Bulldogs with 14 points, with the Jackson sisters following suit, as sophomore guards Saniya Jackson and Nevaeh Jackson filled the stat sheet with a combined 25 points. First-year guard Addison Baxter continued her impressive debut stretch with six points, eight assists and six rebounds.
As a team, Butler shot 45.6% from the field and dominated the scoring battle in the paint 38–28. The Dawgs also received 30 of their points from the bench.
Parkinson credited his team’s improved transition play as the key to the win.“Once we started getting stops, we were able to push it and get easy baskets,” Parkinson said. “That’s the kind of pace we want to play at.”
The Bulldogs’ next test comes later this week as they continue their season-opening homestand on Friday against Columbia.
For now, Parkinson said he is proud of how his team handled its first official game together.
“The biggest thing was just getting a win with this group,” he said. “They’re learning who does what well, and today we played defense, we played together, and we had fun. That’s a great way to start the year.”
