Bulldogs Prepare For Toughest Test Of The Season

Jan. 21, 2003

Notes on UWGB

* UW-Green Bay presents itself as Butler's most formidable opponent this season, coming into Thursday's game ranked No. 16 according to the latest Associated Press poll. Having survived a 61-60 scare against UW-Milwaukee, the Phoenix stand at 15-2 overall and 6-0 in Horizon League action, full two and a half games ahead of second place Wright State.

* Head coach Kevin Borseth is in his fifth season with the Phoenix, and just recently recorded his 100th victory with the program. He holds an impressive 101-37 record at UWGB and is 326-134 in his 16-year overall career.

* As a team, the Phoenix rank in the top three of every statistical category in the league. Individually, UW-Green Bay boasts some of the top players in the league. Chandra Johnson is leading the Phoenix in scoring with 12.8 points per game, followed by Kristy Loiselle (12.6 ppg) and Sara Boyer (11.5 ppg). Seven players are averaging 7.6 points or more on the season.

* After winning the regular season title for the last four seasons, UW-Green Bay was once again picked to win the conference. The Phoenix has been to postseason play each of the last five years, including four trips to the NCAA Tournament.

History Lesson: What once was a heated rivalry, the series between Butler and UW-Green Bay has been dominated by the Phoenix in recent years. The Bulldogs have lost their last eight meetings to their foes from the north dating back to the 1998 season, as UWGB holds the edge on the overall series, 15-7. The two teams have met up in each of the last two Horizon League Tournaments, with the Phoenix emerging as the victor on both occasions.

Frozen By The Penguins: Youngstown State staved off a late Butler rally to hold on for a 72-69 win on Saturday afternoon at the Beeghly Center. The Penguins led by 17 with 9:20 remaining, but the Bulldogs went on a 25-7 run over the next seven minutes and Stephanie Boeke's three-pointer at 2:21 gave Butler a 69-68 advantage. Butler's lead was short-lived, though as the Penguins would score on the next possession to go up one and then sank a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to seal their first Horizon League win of the season.

Leader Of The Pack: Sophomore Angel Mason led Butler in scoring with 15 points off the bench against Youngstown State. Mason has led the Bulldogs in scoring six times this season, but not since Butler's Dec. 28 outing against Miami (Ohio). Six different players have led Butler in scoring this season, including Nancy Bowden, Cortney Urquhart, Lisa Pryor and Tiffany Smith who have all been the Top Dog on two occasions and Stephanie Boeke who led Butler in scoring against Loyola.

Comeback Kid: After going 0-for-3 in the first half against the Penguins, junior Lisa Pryor turned up the heat, connecting on a trio of three pointers in the final seven minutes of the game to help lead Butler to a near come-from-behind victory over the Penguins. Pryor finished with 11 points on the game.

Oh So Close: Sophomore Cortney Urquhart narrowly missed her fourth double-double of the season against Youngstown State, coming up one rebound shy against the Penguins with an 11-point, nine-rebound effort. Urquhart is leading the team in both scoring (13.6 ppg) and rebounding (8.6 rpg) against Horizon League foes.

Give 'Em A Hand: The Bulldogs committed a season-low 11 turnovers while dishing out 15 assists against Youngstown State. Their previous turnover low was 17 against UIC in their league opener.

Breaking Out of The Slump: While Butler's 43 percent field goal shooting clip against Youngstown State might not be overly impressive to most, it is a big step above the Bulldogs' output in the last several games. Since the beginning of league play, Butler had only eclipsed the 40 percent mark once in league action thus far - a 42 percent performance against UIC. The Bulldogs are shooting 39 percent on the season.

Long Range Bombers: After turning in two of their worst outside shooting performances of the season - a 14.3 percent (2-14) outing against Loyola and a 16.7 percent (2-12) performance against Wright State - the Bulldogs regrouped, hitting 41 percent (9-22) of their three-point attempts against Youngstown State. Nancy Bowden and Lisa Pryor each tallied three treys in the game.

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.

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.

A Balanced Attack: Against Detroit, 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, while 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.

Top Dog: Nancy Bowden leads the Horizon League with 7.0 assists per game, nearly two assists better than the player ranked second. Bowden also ranks first in steals per game (3.33) and ranks second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.72). 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.

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 3-12 overall and 1-4 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 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 15 games this season. Nancy Bowden has started in 14 of the team's affairs, while no other player has appeared in the starting lineup more than eight times. Head coach Beth Couture has used nine different starting lineups throughout the season.

Balancing Act: The Bulldogs boast a balanced offensive attack as six players are averaging 7.5 points or more. Angel Mason is leading the team with 11.3 points per game, followed by Nancy Bowden (11.2 ppg), Cortney Urquhart (10.5 ppg), Lisa Pryor (9.1 ppg), Tiffany Smith (7.5 ppg) and Stephanie Boeke (7.5 ppg).

Doubling Over: Eight different players have recorded double-figure scoring outings for the Bulldogs. Nancy Bowden and Cortney Urquhart lead the way with eleven double figure scoring outings apiece, followed by Angel Mason (9), Lisa Pryor (7), Tiffany Smith (4) and Stephanie Boeke (4), Dionne Goodwin (1) and Jessica Monaco (1).

Injury Prone: For the second consecutive year, the Bulldogs have again been plagued by numerous injuries. Sophomore guard/forward Maria Marchesano has missed 13 games this season and 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 13 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.

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).

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.

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.

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: Butler's game against UW-Green Bay begins a three-game homestand for the Bulldogs. Butler will host UW-Milwaukee on Saturday (Jan. 25) in a 2 p.m. contest and then will welcome Cleveland State to Hinkle Fieldhouse for a 7 p.m. battle on Wednesday, January 29.