Following a strong season-opening victory, the women’s basketball team was back in action for the second time this week, using a dominant second half to defeat Lipscomb 104-57.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair, with 11 lead changes and four points being the largest lead for either team.
Senior guard McKayla Miller did it all for the Bisons in the first half, with six defensive rebounds and two steals to go along with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting — including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
Butler sustained the Miller charge through getting to the foul line, where it went 11-of-13 in the first half. A timely three from senior forward Lili Krasovec gave the Dawgs a four-point advantage going into the locker room.
Miller and the Bisons started the second half strong, using an 8-3 spurt out of the locker room to regain a one-point advantage. However, that was the last time Lipscomb had the lead in the contest. Two buckets from Krasovec, a lay-in from junior guard Tamar Singer and a three from senior guard Judit Valero forced a Bisons timeout and it was off to the races for the Dawgs afterwards. By the end of the third quarter, the Bulldogs had gone on a 34-7 run and had a 26-point lead going into the final frame.
Singer started the game 0-of-9 from the field, only scoring two first-half points — both of which were free throws. However, she finished the game making her last five field goals, ending with 13 points to go along with six steals and a career-high 13 assists.
She credited her teammates for playing fast and getting up and down the court all game.
“Once we make stuff, we can run, and that’s [my] game,” Singer said. “Once we run, we have easy layups. Shout out to my friends. They make the shots, so [it is] all about them [helping] me.
After forcing nine first-half turnovers, Butler nearly doubled its effort on the defensive end as it forced 17 turnovers in the second half — including 11 steals. The second-half defensive performance was lauded by head coach Maria Marchesano, who highlighted the disciplined adjustments the team made.
“We wanted to be more disruptive [and] more aggressive,” Marchesano said. “But we also didn’t want to pick up silly fouls because we were already in foul trouble. I think we just picked up our intensity as a whole, and that allowed us to do what we do within our system, and we were able to stay disciplined and still force some turnovers.”
Additionally, Miller was held to just three points in the second half. Marchesano attributed the turnaround to the work of the whole team.
“It was a team adjustment,” Marchesano said. “[Redshirt junior guard] Saniya [Jackson] got in foul trouble early, and I thought Valero did a phenomenal job guarding her in the second half, but it wasn’t really just a Valero thing. It was a team [thing]. We picked it up on the defensive end and affected them as a whole.”
The Bulldogs also had three players with double-doubles tonight, including first-year guard Laniah Wills. She described her approach and how it felt to accomplish the feat in just 16 minutes of game time.
“It feels really nice,” Wills said. “Honestly, whenever a shot goes up, my first instinct is to go rebound it, no matter what. Don’t give the defense another opportunity, but also give us [an] opportunity when it comes to us. Whenever I get [a] rebound, I just want to go back up. If I can’t get the layup, [I] just pass it out to my teammates. My teammates were finding me open [all game].”
Butler had 26 assists, matching its total from Monday’s game. Marchesano had high praise for the selfless team play throughout the game.
“The balance [of] scoring on our team [and] the willingness to make the extra pass continues to just be really fun to coach,” Marchesano said.
A solid fourth quarter performance allowed Butler to cross the century mark for the second time in as many games. The big lead built by the midway point of the fourth quarter allowed first-year forward/center Olivia Hastings and first-year guards Lexi Baer and Sage Miskel to enter the game. Hastings and Miskel added two and five points, respectively, while Baer picked up an assist on the layup from Hastings before the Bulldogs were able to dribble out the clock and cruise to a 47-point victory.
Butler looks to ride the positive momentum from its first two games when it travels to Central Michigan for a Sunday matinee and its first road game of the season.