No. 11 Marquette Hosts Butler on Friday at 7 p.m. CT

MILWAUKEE – The 11^th ranked Marquette women's basketball team is back at the Al McGuire Center this Friday to take on the Butler Bulldogs for the second time this season. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. CT on the BIG EAST Digital Network.

Bob Brainerd and Kyle Dlablay will handle the call from the sidelines.

The Golden Eagles (22-4, 13-1) will go into the matchup following a dominant bounce-back performance to the tune of a 109-63 win against Seton Hall. A career-high 34 points for Natisha Heideman and a double-double from Danielle King with a career-best 12 assists helped secure the statement victory. The 109 points was a season-best for the Golden Eagles and the most for a BIG EAST team since 2012.

Hiedeman's standout performance also helped her earn another weekly BIG EAST honor roll nod. The senior will hope to replicate her 14-18 shooting display, which included going 6-8 from behind the arc. Her 18.6 points per game is still a team best, shooting .424 from deep on the season.

Marquette will host its final home matchup of the regular season against Xavier on Sunday, Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. CT, which will also serve as senior day.

OPPONENT

BUTLER (19-6, 9-5 BIG EAST): The Bulldogs lost a close game in overtime to Providence on Sunday, 66-63. Despite three double digit performances, including 23 from senior Whitney Jennings and 22 from junior Kristen Spolyar, the Friars edged the Bulldogs out in extra time.

Butler certainly has a stingy defense heading into Friday's matchup, allowing only 56.4 points per game, though offensively, the Bulldogs tally just 68.0 points per game while the Golden Eagles put up 85.8 on any given night, which is the fourth-most scoring offense in the country.

THE SERIES
Friday marks the 21^st overall meeting with Butler. Marquette leads the series 13-7, including the most recent battle with the Bulldogs in January when the Golden Eagles won 87-58 in Indianapolis.