Butler Looks To End Three-Game Losing Skid Against Penguins

Jan. 17, 2003

Notes on YSU

* Youngstown State enters Saturday's battle with an identical 3-11 overall record as the Butler women's basketball team (3-11, 1-3 Horizon League). The Penguins are 0-4 in Horizon League action in the earlygoing of the league season, having lost to Loyola (84-63), Cleveland State (81-44), UW-Milwaukee (79-59) and UW-Green Bay (95-53).

* Youngstown State boasts a balanced offense, as five players average 8.6 points or more. Devin Novak is leading the team in scoring with 10.7 points per game, while teammate Jessica Forsythe is averaging a team-best 6.8 rebounds per game.

* This will only be the third meeting between the Bulldogs and Youngstown State, as the Penguins hold a 2-0 series lead, having swept Butler in both meetings last year.

* Ed DiGregorio is in his 20th season with Youngstown State and holds a 316-230 overall record with the Penguins.

* The Penguins return nine letterwinners off of last year's 12-16 team. They were picked to finish fifth in the Horizon League Preseason Poll.

Webb Dominates Bulldogs: Tiffany Webb set a new school and Horizon League single game scoring record by scoring 49 points in Wright State's 82-65 win over Butler on Thursday evening at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Webb broke the league's nine-year-old record of 46 points, set by Xavier's Carol Madsen during the 1994 season. Her 49-point output included a 17-of-20 performance from the charity stripe, which also snapped her school's record for free throws made and attempted.

Looking For Charity: Butler and Wright State combined for 74 free throw attempts and 60 fouls on the game. Butler's 37 free throws attempted and 23 made were season-highs. Nancy Bowden also set a season-high with a 10-of-11 performance from the charity stripe. Bowden ranks eight in the league in free throw percentage (.744), however as a team the Bulldogs rank last, shooting 62 percent from the line.

Double Duty: Sophomore Cortney Urquhart tallied the Bulldogs' fifth double-double of the season with a 20-point, 11-rebound effort against the Raiders. Angel Mason has recorded a pair of double-doubles for Butler, while Nancy Bowden has one under her belt this season as well.

Loving The League: Cortney Urquhart has been on top of her game since the Horizon League season began. Urquhart has tallied two double-doubles against her league foes, and is averaging a team-best 14.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in conference action.

It's Been Cold Outside: Butler's long-range shooting has struggled in the last few games. The Bulldogs were 2-of-14 (14.3 percent) from three-point land against Loyola and then went 2-of-12 (16.7 percent) from long range against the Raiders. Butler's three point field goal percentage stands at 39 percent on the season, but just 29 percent in league games.

Now Boarding: Butler held a 40-34 rebounding edge against Wright State, marking only the fourth time all season the Bulldogs have outrebounded their foes. Cortney Urquhart led the way with 11 rebounds, followed by Jessica Monaco's contribution of seven boards off the bench.

Run Down By The Ramblers: Freshman Stephanie Boeke scored 12 points Nancy Bowden added 11 points, but it wasn't enough as the Bulldogs fell to Loyola 69-58 on Jan. 9 at the Joseph J. Gentile Center. Angel Mason narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds in front of her hometown crowd, and Bowden added eight assists and five steals to her totals.

Leader of the Pack: Stephanie Boeke led Butler in scoring for the first time in her young career against Loyola. Six different players have led Butler in scoring this season.

Ousted In Overtime: Detroit's Caitie Goddard scored seven points in overtime to lead the Titans to an 84-79 overtime win against Butler on Jan. 7 at Calihan Hall. Goddard had scored only two points prior to overtime, but hit a three-pointer and went four-for-four from the line to lift Detroit to the Horizon League victory.

A Balanced Attack: For the first time all season, the Bulldogs had five players record double-figures in scoring in a single game. Cortney Urquhart led the Bulldogs with 17 points, just one shy of her career high. Nancy Bowden (14), Stephanie Boeke (13), Jessica Monaco (11) and Dionne Goodwin (10) also tallied double digits in scoring.

Season Highs: Several players recorded season highs in Butler's overtime battle against Detroit. Freshmen Stephanie Boeke and Jessica Monaco, who combined for 17 of the team's first 22 points, posted new scoring highs. Boeke finished with 13 points, while Monaco turned in 11. Junior Dionne Goodwin recorded 10 points and seven rebounds against the Titans, both of which were season highs.

League Honors: Nancy Bowden became the first Butler women's basketball player to be named the Horizon League Player of the Week since Kelly Kuhn was honored during the 2000-01 season. During the week of Dec. 30, Bowden scored 20 points, two shy of her career-high, and set a new career-high with seven steals to go along with five assists in the Bulldogs' loss to Eastern Michigan. The 5-2 floor leader then recorded 16 points, including a 9-of-10 performance from the free throw line, five assists and four rebounds in Butler's 69-63 win over UIC in the Bulldogs' league opener. She averaged 18 points, five assists and 3.5 rebounds in the two games for the Bulldogs.

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.

Showing Improvement: The Bulldogs, which are now 3-11 overall and 1-3 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.

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. She then tallied one rebound, one blocked shot and one steal at Loyola. The 6-3 center played in 20 games last season and averaged 1.5 points and 1.8 rebounds while on the court.

Line 'Em Up: Sophomore Cortney Urquhart is the lone Butler player to have started in all 14 games this season. Nancy Bowden has started in 13 of the team's affairs, while no other player has appeared in the starting lineup more than eight times. Head coach Beth Couture has eight different starting lineups throughout the season.

Top Dog: Nancy Bowden leads the Horizon League with 6.9 assists per game, nearly two assists better than the player ranked second. Bowden also ranks first in steals per game (3.43) and ranks second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.64). Her solid numbers have also put her in the national spotlight, as she ranks 13th among Division 1 players in assists and 25th in steals.

Balancing Act: The Bulldogs boast a balanced offensive attack as six players are averaging 7.4 points or more. Nancy Bowden and Angel Mason are leading the team with 11.1 points per game, followed by Cortney Urquhart (10.4 ppg), Lisa Pryor (9.0 ppg), Tiffany Smith (7.5 ppg) and Stephanie Boeke (7.2 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. Junior Tiffany Smith has been the latest injury victim, suffering stress fractures in both of her legs. She is expected to miss the next month of action.

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: Eight different players have recorded double-figure scoring outings for the Bulldogs. Nancy Bowden and Cortney Urquhart lead the way with ten double figure scoring outings apiece, followed by Angel Mason (8), Lisa Pryor (6), Tiffany Smith (4) and Stephanie Boeke (4), Dionne Goodwin (1) and Jessica Monaco (1).

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.

Up Next: The Bulldogs will host a pair of Wisconsin teams next week in Horizon League action. UW-Milwaukee (6-9, 2-3 Horizon) will make the trek to Hinkle Fieldhouse on Thursday, Jan. 23 for a 7 p.m. meeting. Butler will then have a tough test on Saturday (Jan. 25), as they host No. 16 UW-Green Bay at 2 p.m. The Phoenix, which have won eight straight, are 14-2 overall and 5-0 in league play.