Redshirt sophomore forward Mallory Miller led the team with three blocks. Photo courtesy of Butler Athletics.
NHU-HAN BUI | ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | hbui@butler.edu
The women’s basketball team opened Big East play with a loss, as Seton Hall downed the Dawgs 70-51.
After the Bulldogs opened the scoring, Seton Hall went on a 9-2 run led by senior forward Mariana Valenzuela. The forward dominated on both sides of the ball for the Pirates in the first quarter, scoring six points while notching three rebounds, two steals and a block. Junior guard Savannah Catalon also added seven points to the Pirates’ score.
Both defenses shone during the second quarter. Butler held Seton Hall to just 21.4% in the paint, while the Pirates often forced the Bulldogs to shoot as the shot clock expired — which led to missed or easily blocked shots.
Seton Hall had its back court — sophomore guard Jada Eads and Catalon — out with injury for chunks of the quarter, leading to seven turnovers that the Dawgs easily converted for five points. Without pressure from the duo of Eads and Catalon, Butler shrank the Pirates’ lead to seven heading into halftime.
Seton Hall came out of halftime with a five-point surge, but neither team was able to gain momentum as the defenses forced sloppy play from the other side. The quarter saw both teams record a total 13 turnovers, with eight of those coming from Butler.
After the Bulldogs had an extra player on the court that allowed Seton Hall to sub in Eads at the last second, Eads assisted on a buzzer-beating layup from sophomore guard Ja’Kahla Craft to make the score 43-35.
The Pirates opened the scoring quickly again, going on a four-point run that was soon followed by another five. What was a nine-point gap coming out of the third grew to 21 halfway through the fourth for the Dawgs, as they had no answer for Valenzuela and Catalon. The duo scored 17 of Seton Hall’s 27 points during the quarter. The Bulldogs clawed back with a late five-point surge, but only shrunk the deficit to 19 as the game ended.
Valenzuela ended the game leading all players with 25 points, and recorded her first Seton Hall double-double with 13 rebounds. Redshirt sophomore guard Saniya Jackson and junior guard Kennedy Langham were the two Bulldogs to score double-digit points, with 12 and 10, respectively. Jackson, along with sophomore guard Lily Zeinstra, also led the team with five rebounds.
Butler was held to 33.3% shooting and 25% on three-pointers in a game it never led. Despite forcing 16 turnovers from the Pirates, the Dawgs were only able to score five points off those — and all five were during the second quarter. Meanwhile, Seton Hall managed to score 19 from 19 Butler turnovers.
With the loss, the Bulldogs fall below .500 for the first time this season with a 4-5 record. The team stays on the road to take on Big East opponent Marquette on Dec. 7.
