Late Push Keys Butler's 57-49 Victory Over Detroit

Feb. 15, 2003

Final Stats

INDIANAPOLIS - Butler outscored the Detroit women's basketball team 21-5 in the final 5:37 of the game en route to a 57-49 victory over the Titans on Saturday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The game marked the first time since the 1998-99 campaign that the Bulldogs' had held an opponent to less than 50 points. The win puts a halt to Butler's four-game slide and improves the Bulldogs' record to 5-18 overall and 3-9 in the Horizon League. Detroit drops to 7-15 and 5-6 in league action.

"I felt like today was the first time all season that we played hard and gave complete effort throughout the entire 40 minutes," said head coach Beth Couture. "Our shots weren't falling, but we made up for it on the defensive end and really played a smart all-around game."

Detroit broke loose from a 6-6 tie to take an 11-8 lead off of back-to-back baskets by Lori Wild. Cortney Urquhart's consecutive baskets followed by a free throw from Nikki Budgake put Butler up 13-11 with 9:18 left in the half. A Sara Crum jumper gave the Titans a 17-14 lead at 7:49, but it would be the visitors' last field goal of the period.

Urquhart scored six of Butler's final seven points of the half, but the Titans hit four free throws in the final minutes to take a 23-21 lead heading into halftime. Urquhart led Butler with 10 first half points, while Crum paced the Titans with nine.

Detroit maintained its two-point lead throughout the first few minutes of the second half, until a baskets by Lori Wild and Elizabeth Krzyzek pushed the Titans' lead up to 35-28. Lisa Pryor's three-pointer at 11:26 cut Butler's deficit to 35-31, but Crum answered with a layup on the following possession to extend Detroit's lead to six.

Pryor again connected from long range to chisel Detroit's advantage down to 37-34, but five straight points from Lindsey Pasquinzo gave the Titans' their biggest lead of the game at 42-34. Five different players then scored for Butler, sparking the Bulldogs' 12-2 run and giving the hosts their first lead of the half at 46-44 with 3:22 remaining. Crum tied the game at 46 with 2:57 remaining, but the Titans would not score again until Pasquinzo hit a three-pointer with seven seconds left. In the meantime, the Bulldogs, which rank last in the league in free throw shooting, went on a tear from the free throw line, making nine of ten attempts to close out the win.

"Obviously, the key to this win for us was our free throw shooting down the stretch," said Couture. "We struggled from the line early on in the game, but we really redeemed ourselves at the end."

Urquhart led all players with 18 points, and finished with seven rebounds. Nancy Bowden tallied her third double-double of the season, with 13 points and 10 assists to go along with a career-high seven rebounds. Pryor also chipped in 10 points for the Bulldogs.

Butler, which committed a season-low 11 turnovers on the game, shot just 28.3 percent (17-60) from the field, which included a 3-of-19 (15.8 percent) performance from long range. The Titans held a slim 46-43 rebounding edge and shot 35.7 percent (20-56) on the game.

Crum finished with a double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds to lead Detroit, while Pasquinzo and Wild each added 10.

Butler will take to the road on Thursday (Feb. 20) to battle it out against Wright State in a 7 p.m. contest.