When Butler women’s basketball took on Wisconsin last season, questions swirled in the locker room. Could they play with a Big Ten team? Could they win?
It was the second year of coach Austin Parkinson’s tenure after he inherited a Butler team that went 1-27 during the 2021-22 season. The Bulldogs won 11 games his first season. Then they won against Wisconsin on the road last year — a big win, Parkinson said — and got another significant victory against Villanova in Big East play. Brick by brick, win by win, the Bulldogs improved to 15-17.
This season, Butler approached its nonconference schedule with more confidence — including Wednesday’s 71-64 double-overtime loss against Wisconsin.
“We know we can play with these teams,” Parkinson said. “We beat IU. We led most of the game tonight. We just weren’t able to get it done.”
Butler is nearing the end of a daunting nonconference schedule that featured matchups against two teams ranked top 10 in NET — No. 4 Texas and No. 8 Vanderbilt — along with IU and Wisconsin. The Bulldogs came out 1-3 in those games, but their record is 9-3 overall. It’s the program’s best start since 2018-19 — a definitive step in the right direction as Parkinson continues his rebuild.
The Bulldogs’ win against Indiana on Nov. 13 was gritty and relentless after a back-and-forth three quarters. The Bulldogs’ matchup against the Badgers appeared to have the same ingredients early on. Butler ran all over Wisconsin, shooting a dominant 46.7% from beyond the arc in the first half. The Bulldogs simply looked the better team as they flustered Wisconsin’s defense, dominated off the glass and played clean basketball.
Things began to unravel when guard Caroline Strande, Butler’s leading scorer, left the game injured in the second half. She hopped off the court, unable to put weight on one of her legs. Strande made one of two free throws before leaving the game, putting the Bulldogs up 30-16.
By halftime, it was 33-24. The second half soon turned into the Serah Williams show, as the Wisconsin forward scored 18 and notched seven rebounds to push the game to overtime. Going just 44% from the free throw line and 0-for-8 from 3 didn’t help matters for the lagging Bulldogs.
But pushy defense in the paint and forced turnovers kept the Bulldogs in it through the game’s final minutes and the first overtime. The Badgers’ stifling defense in the second overtime proved the death knell, however, as they held Butler to 3-for-12 shooting from the field and hung on for the win.
Parkinson had no update on Strande’s injury post-game. But he viewed staying competitive after her departure as a sign of growth.
“If we lost our leading scorer last year, that would’ve been 15 points in the other direction,” Parkinson said. “But the leading scorer goes out. We have some freshmen step up. We have some other kids step up, and we still gave ourselves a chance. That’s something we can build on.”
Among the underclassmen: sophomore guard Riley Makalusky, a Hamilton Southeastern alum, who nailed three 3-pointers in the first half and played a role in multiple forced turnovers later in the game. Freshman guard Lily Carmody played 26 minutes and tied the score at 59-59 to send it to double overtime. Parkinson said he likely should’ve turned to freshman forward Jocelyn Land, who had eight points in seven minutes, late in the game.
Senior forward Sydney Jaynes, who led the Bulldogs with 13 points alongside Makalusky, said she feels this is the best year since Parkinson took over. The loss against Wisconsin was “just a little setback,” she said — nothing to be deterred by.
Parkinson said the program is in a place where players expect to win against competitive teams, which led to a disappointed locker room on Wednesday. But there’s plenty to learn from, he said, citing execution issues late in the fourth quarter and in overtime when Butler had opportunities for game-winning shots.
It’s been a long road since 1-27. But everything is better for the Bulldogs by leaps and bounds: the competition, performance, belief. All of this will be key as Butler faces a tough Big East slate, which includes matchups against No. 2 UConn and Creighton.
Jaynes said the goal is to have better competition come into Hinkle Fieldhouse each season. The competitive nonconference slate has been just what the Bulldogs needed ahead of Big East play, she said.
“We just got a glimpse of what it’s like to be in tough game situations, and I think that might be the case heading into Big East play,” she said. “I’m excited to see what the Big East teams have this year, but I know that we’re ready for it.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Inside Butler women’s basketball’s tough schedule, rebuild progress
