Coming off two dominant victories at home, the women’s basketball team travels north to Mount Pleasant, Mich. to take on Central Michigan in the Bulldogs’ first road game of the season. This is a rematch of last year’s November clash, which saw the Chippewas eke past the Dawgs 68-59.
Here is what you need to know before the Bulldogs battle the Chippewas:
Who: Butler vs. Central Michigan
When: Nov. 8, 1 p.m.
Where: McGuirk Arena
How to Watch: ESPN+
Riding the momentum
The first two games of Maria Marchesano’s tenure as Butler’s head coach have been an offensive showcase. The Dawgs broke the century mark and saw six players reach double figures in both games. In addition, junior guard Tamar Singer recorded a double-double in each contest.
In Singer’s lone matchup against the Chippewas a season ago when she was at Miami, she scored only seven points but had five steals. Through two games with the Bulldogs, Singer has 23 assists to go along with 23 points and nine steals.
Not to be overlooked are the contributions of the other members of the starting five in both contests — senior guard Nevaeh Jackson, redshirt junior guard Saniya Jackson, senior guard Judit Valero and senior forward Lili Krasovec. The quartet have scored 88 of Butler’s 212 points, with Nevaeh and Valero also having the second- and third-most assists on the team behind Singer.
With this being the third game in six days for the Bulldogs, Marchesano emphasized the need for recovery and coming out strong against a different defensive scheme than Butler has seen in its first two games.
“I hope we get a little bit of rest,” Marchesano said. “I think our legs are a little bit tired right now. [Central Michigan is] traditionally a very hard-nosed, athletic, fast-paced team. We’re going to have to be on our A-game. It’s a road game [so] we anticipate this being a tough challenge. We have a lot to get ready for because they do some funky things with zones.”
Scouting Central Michigan
Led by fourth-year head coach Kristin Haynie, the Chippewas look for their first win of the season following a 103-36 defeat to No. 18 Ohio State on Thursday. This is the second home game for Central Michigan this season; the other was a four-point loss to Old Dominion to open the year.
Through two games, junior guard Summer Davis has been the leading scorer for the Chippewas, averaging 14.5 points — six more than her twin sister and next leading scorer, junior guard Indya Davis. Both played at Georgetown a season ago and in two games against Butler, Indya scored a total of four points while Summer was held scoreless.
The Davis twins have the most rebounds on the team so far as well, averaging seven per game, however, they are not the only players to watch on the glass. Senior center Kara Bartels and fifth-year guard Nevaeh Williams average just under 10 combined rebounds a game, providing an opportunity for the Chippewas to have second-chance or transition opportunities if the Bulldogs are not careful.
Through its two contests, Central Michigan has forced 13 steals with Summer leading the way with five. However, the Chippewas have turned the ball over 12 more times than their opponents, including 44 giveaways against the Buckeyes.
If the Dawgs want to secure their first road win of the season and improve to 3-0, they will need tight ball security and a quicker start than in its previous game. Provided they accomplish those objectives, Butler will be off to its best start since the 2024-25 campaign.