The women’s basketball team hosts the first regular season game of the Maria Marchesano era against Tennessee Tech. As the season opener, this should provide a good test for a Butler team which returns only two members from a year ago.
Here is what you need to know before the Bulldogs host the Golden Eagles.
Who: Butler vs. Tennessee Tech
When: Nov. 2, 11 a.m.
Where: Hinkle Fieldhouse
How to watch: ESPN+
Feeding off momentum
Butler enters its season-opener fresh off of a 114-26 exhibition victory over Franklin on Oct. 29. In addition to the score, the Dawgs saw major contributions from all members of the team and look to start the regular season on the right foot.
One of the biggest contributors to the team so far this season is junior guard Tamar Singer who had nine assists, forced six steals and contributed six points of her own in the win over the Grizzlies.
In addition to Singer, Butler was led by senior guard Nevaeh Jackson, who had a team-high 17 points, and first-year guard Laniah Wills who came off the bench to lead the team with 10 rebounds.
The key to the game for the Bulldogs is ball security and forcing turnovers. The Dawgs forced 39 turnovers from Franklin and scored 57 points off of turnovers. However, with 16 turnovers of their own during Wednesday’s exhibition, Butler still has room for improvement as the regular season begins.
Head coach Marchesano highlighted how important the first game is in helping the team improve.
“I’m just excited to have the basketball season here as a whole,” Marchesano said. “To get that first actual game of the season over with [is important] so the girls can understand the urgency that we need for a real game [and] so they can get past the first game butterflies.”
Additionally, Marchesano is excited for the earlier game time and hopes her team will start strong.
“I hate waiting all day to play games,” Marchesano said. “I love that we’re getting it over with right away. We practice later in the day most days [but] hopefully, we get a good night’s rest and we’re ready to go at 11:00.”
Scouting Tennessee Tech
The Golden Eagles are coming off of a season where they finished with a 15-14 record and failed to make the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) tournament. In its lone game against a power conference school a year ago, Tennessee Tech lost 85-44 to USC.
Head coach Kim Rosamond returns for her 11th season, with her last eight seasons all having winning records. The Eagles also return sophomore forward LaReesha Cawthorn, who averaged 9.8 points and 10 rebounds per game. Cawthorn’s 10 rebounds per game average was best in the OVC last season.
The All-OVC second-team member will be joined by junior guard Savannah Davis, who transferred from Middle Tennessee. Davis averaged 7.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game for the Blue Raiders last year. She also scored 19 in the Golden Eagles’ exhibition victory on Oct. 29. In addition to Davis, Tennessee Tech added senior guard Karson Martin from Quinnipiac. While with the Bobcats, Martin was named MAAC Sixth Player of the Year while shooting 39.3% from the field and 36.8% from beyond the arc.
The Golden Eagles look to capitalize off of Bulldog mistakes as they forced 15 turnovers in their exhibition, scoring 14 points off of them. Look for Cawthorn to make an impact defensively, as she had four steals during Tennessee Tech’s lone exhibition game.