Butler Women's Basketball Team Travels To Detroit

Jan. 6, 2003

Notes on UDM

* The Butler women's basketball team will look to go 2-0 in the Horizon League for the first time since the 1999-00 season when they face Detroit on Tuesday evening at Calihan Hall. The Titans (3-8) are 1-1 in the league, defeating UW-Milwaukee in overtime in their league opener before falling to nationally ranked UW-Green Bay on Saturday.

* The Titans are led in scoring by Sara Crum, who averages 9.9 points per game, but teammate Caitie Goddard has come on strong in league play, averaging a team-best 14.0 points per game against league foes. The Titans also boast one of the top shot-blockers in the league with forward Nicole Anaejionu, who averages 1.38 blocks per game.

* At the helm of the Titan squad is head coach Anne Rexford, who is in her fourth year with the team. Rexford is 54-41 overall with the Titans.

* Detroit returns eight letterwinners off of last year's 16-14 squad. The Titans were picked to finish seventh in the Horizon League Preseason Poll.

* Detroit leads the overall series between the Titans and the Bulldogs, 25-11. Butler has not captured a win against UDM since the 1998-99 season, as the Titans have won the last eight meetings. Last season, Detroit defeated Butler 86-68 at Calihan Hall and 84-59 on the Bulldogs' home court.

Dousing The Flames: After holding a 64-40 lead with ten minutes remaining, the Butler women's basketball team withstood an amazing 23-5 Illinois-Chicago run down the stretch to claim a 69-63 win in its Horizon League opener on Saturday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

A Strong Start: Butler's win over the Flames gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 record in the Horizon League, marking the first time since the 1999-00 season that Butler had won its league opener. The Bulldogs did not capture its first win in Horizon League play last season until Feb. 14, after Butler began league play with an 0-13 record.

Pryor Pours It On Junior Lisa Pryor poured in a game-high 17 points against UIC. She also added a career-high six assists to her totals.

A Balanced Attack: Lisa Pryor led four Butler players in double figure scoring against the Flames with 17 points. Nancy Bowden (16), Cortney Urquhart (12) and Tiffany Smith (10) also posted double digits in the scoring column. This was only the second time this season that four players had scored in double figures for the Bulldogs.

At Home In Hinkle: The Bulldogs' win against UIC also snapped a five-game homecourt losing streak. Butler is now 1-5 in Hinkle Fieldhouse this season.

Showing Improvement: The Bulldogs, who are now 3-8 overall and 1-0 in the Horizon League, have already tied their overall and league win totals from last year. Butler finished 3-26 and 1-15 during the 2001-02 campaign.

Bench Work: Freshman Jessica Monaco scored seven points and recorded a team-best nine rebounds off the bench against the Flames, both of which marked career highs for the 5-9 forward. She is now averaging 3.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.

She's Baaaack: Sophomore Christine Cox returned to action on Saturday against UIC, after nursing a foot injury for the first ten games this season. Cox recorded one rebound in her brief stint against the Flames.

Charity Work: While the Bulldogs have struggled from the free throw line all season, ranking last in the Horizon League by shooting 62 percent from the stripe, they managed to hit the shots when they mattered against the Flames. Nancy Bowden hit the tail end of a two-shot foul with one minute remaining in the game to put a halt to UIC's 21-0 run. After UIC's Tina Thompson's jumper at 0:30 pulled the Flames to within 65-63, Lisa Pryor and Jessica Monaco each hit a pair of free throws in the waning seconds to seal the win for the Bulldogs. Butler shot 70 percent against the line against UIC, which was its best performance in five games.

Not Going To Miss The MAC: Butler's 79-62 loss to Eastern Michigan marked the third straight game that the Bulldogs had falling to a Mid-American Conference member. The Bulldogs dropped a 86-75 decision to Western Michigan on Dec. 14 and then fell to Miami (Ohio) 72-61 on Dec. 28.

Getting It Done On Both Ends: Junior Nancy Bowden got the job done on both ends of the court against Eastern Michigan. The 5-2 guard scored a season-high 20 points, which included a career-best three treys. Bowden also added a career-high seven steals and five assists to her totals.

Assisting The Team: Lisa Pryor led Butler in assists against UIC, marking the first time all season that junior guard Nancy Bowden had not topped the team in that category.

Line 'Em Up: Sophomore Cortney Urquhart is the lone Butler player to have started in all 11 games this season. Nancy Bowden has started in ten of the team's affairs, while no other player has appeared in the starting lineup more than seven times. Head coach Beth Couture has six different starting lineups throughout the season.

Double Duty: Sophomore Angel Mason tallied Butler's fourth double-double of the season, as she scored 15 points and pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds against Western Michigan. Mason has two double-doubles on the season, while Nancy Bowden and Cortney Urquhart have recorded one apiece.

Top Dog: Nancy Bowden leads the Horizon League with 7.2 assists per game, nearly three assists better than the player ranked second. Bowden also ranks first in steals per game (3.18) and ranks second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.84).

All-Tourney Honors: Sophomore Angel Mason was named to the Fresno State Classic all-tournament team for her efforts on the court. Mason scored a team-high 17 points off the bench in Butler's loss to the Lady Racers. Fresno State captured the Tournament title with a ten-point win over San Diego State in the championship bout.

Balancing Act: The Bulldogs boast a balanced offensive attack as six players are averaging 6.6 points or more. Angel Mason is leading the team with 11.5 points per game, followed by Nancy Bowden (10.7 ppg), Lisa Pryor (10.2 ppg), Cortney Urquhart (9.5 ppg), Tiffany Smith (7.9 ppg) and Stephanie Boeke (6.6 ppg).

Injury Prone: For the second consecutive year, the Bulldogs have again been plagued by numerous injuries. Sophomore guard/forward Maria Marchesano will miss the next 1-2 weeks due to a stress fracture in her foot. Freshman Nikki Budgake missed the first five games due to excessive bruising within her knee capsule. Fellow freshman Jessica Monaco was sidelined for the first four games this season with an ACL sprain and sophomore Christine Cox missed the first ten games this season due to an injury to her foot.

Missing Maria: Sophomore forward Maria Marchesano's absence on the court is something the Bulldogs have missed for the last seven games. Marchesano put up some impressive numbers from long range during her rookie season. The 5-10 forward set school records for three-pointers in a single-game (7) and season (64) and averaged 10.1 points per game in Horizon League action. She was named to the 2001-02 Horizon League All-Newcomer team.

Winning Ways: One of first year head coach Beth Couture's long-term goals is to renew the winning tradition of the Butler women's basketball team and she certainly took a step in the right direction on Nov. 25 when the Bulldogs captured a 59-57 win over Illinois State. The triumph over the Redbirds marked the earliest first-game win since the 1999-00 campaign. Since then, Butler had started out 0-2 (2000-01) and 0-6 (2002-03).

A Dozen Does It: Junior guard Nancy Bowden recorded 12 points to go along with 12 assists against Bradley. Her 12 assists were a career-high, surpassing her old mark of eight, and ranks in a fifth-place tie on Butler's single-game list.

Doubling Over: Six different players have recorded double-figure scoring outings for the Bulldogs. Angel Mason, Nancy Bowden and Cortney Urquhart have each recorded seven double figure scoring outings, followed by Lisa Pryor (6), Tiffany Smith (4) and Stephanie Boeke (2).

New Faces: While the 2002-03 Butler women's basketball team returns 10 letterwinners to the court, including four starters, there will be a noticeable difference on the sidelines this season - first year head coach Beth Couture and her staff. Couture is no stranger to success, as she posted 11 winning seasons as the head coach at Presbyterian College, a Division II program in Clinton, S.C. There, she helped her team to three straight conference regular season and tournament titles and earned the conference's Coach of the Year honors on four occasions. Her demand for excellence filters down through her coaching staff, which includes Seph Hatley (Pfeiffer '94), Gene Hill (Coker College '97) and Monica Claridge (St. Joseph's '00).

Trading Spaces: In effort to give the Bulldogs more of a boost in the post positions, head coach Beth Couture moved sophomore Angel Mason and senior Colleen Munro-Leighton to the frontcourt positions this season.

PreSeason Prediction: Junior Nancy Bowden was named to the preseason All-Horizon League Second Team, after being named to the All-Defensive team last year. The Bulldogs were picked to finish eighth in the nine-team conference. UW-Green Bay, which won both the regular season and the tournament last year, was predicted to finish first, followed by UW-Milwaukee, Loyola, Cleveland State, UIC, Youngstown State, Detroit. Wright State rounded out the poll in ninth place.

Watch Out For The Bulldogs: Two of Butler's home games are televised locally by WTBU. Butler fans will get to watch the Bulldogs take on UW-Green Bay (Jan. 23) and Loyola (Feb. 13). Nearly all of the Butler women's basketball home games will be broadcast on the internet this season, in addition to several of the Bulldogs' away games. Log onto www.butlersports.com to listen to Butler telecommunication students broadcast the games.

Young Guns: The 2002-03 roster boasts a trio of talented freshmen. Stephanie Boeke will challenge the upperclassmen for playing time at the guard position, while Jessica Monaco and Nikki Budgake's presence in the post will be welcome additions. Boeke, a 5-10 guard, was a two-time all-conference selection at Minster High School. Monaco, a 5-10 walk-on, averaged 14.4 points and 7.0 rebounds at Saratoga Springs High School in New York. Budgake is a 6-3 center from North Canton, Ohio, who was a Kodak All-American nominee and was named to the Ohio High School All-Star team as a senior..

D, D, Defense: Bowling Green's 54-point output against Butler was the least amount of points allowed by the Bulldogs since their 65-51 win over William & Mary in the Colorado Thanksgiving Classic during the 2000-01 campaign. The game against the Falcons also marked the second time this season the Bulldogs have held their opponent to under 60 points, as they defeated Illinois State 59-57.

A Look Ahead: First year head coach Beth Couture took the first step in her attempt to renew the winning tradition of the Butler women's basketball program by signing three highly-touted recruits. Ellen Hamilton and Jackie Closser, both Indiana Junior All-Stars, along with Ashley Brenden, a prep standout from Bloomington, Minn., each signed the National Letter of Intent and will be the newest members of the 2003-04 roster.

Smart Cookie: Colleen Munro-Leighton, Butler's lone upperclassman last season, was one of 95 Butler student-athletes named to the Horizon League Academic Honor Roll. This marked the second straight year that the chemistry major had received such honors.

Up Next: Following the battle against Detroit, the Bulldogs will travel to Chicago to face Loyola on Thursday (Jan. 9) in an 8 p.m. meeting. The Ramblers, who are 5-8 overall, currently are atop the league standings with a perfect 3-0 mark. After starting out the season 1-8, Loyola is now riding a four-game winning streak.