Bulldogs Host Panthers in Second Half of Doubleheader Saturday

Jan. 23, 2004

WHAT'S ON TAP: Butler (6-11, 2-4 Horizon) looks to avenge a 64-59 defeat to UW-Milwaukee suffered in Wisconsin Jan. 8, as the Bulldogs play host to the Panthers Saturday as the tail end of a men's/women's doubleheader at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

BULLDOG UPDATE: The Bulldogs enter Saturday's game against UW-Milwaukee with a 2-4 league record after knocking off host Youngstown State, 55-45, Wednesday in Ohio. Butler is looking for its first winning streak in nearly three years (wins at UIC and vs. Wright State, Jan. 13 and 20, 2001). The Bulldogs currently sit in a tie for sixth place in the Horizon League standings.

BREAKING DOWN MILWAUKEE: The Panthers (7-8, 4-1) are led by the league's preseasaon "Player of the Year" Maria Viall. The 6-3 senior is in the league's top four in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and blocks. The Waukesha, Wis., native went for 24 points and eight rebounds on 11-of-14 shooting in the Panthers' 64-59 win over the Bulldogs Jan. 8. Coach Sandy Botham's Panthers are alone in fourth place in the league standings and enter today's game off a win at Wright State. Freshman point guard Aubrey Hampton is out for the remainder of the year with a torn ACL.

AGAINST THE PANTHERS: Butler and UW-Milwaukee meet for the 21st time Saturday, with the Panthers owning an 11-9 advantage thanks in large part to their current seven-game series winning streak. The Panthers won the last meeting between the two teams, a 64-59 outcome in Milwaukee Jan. 8. The Bulldogs have won five of the nine meetings at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

LAST TIME OUT (BUTLER 55, YSU 45; JAN. 21, 2004, YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO): Butler held host Youngstown State scoreless over the final 5:39 and without a field goal for the last 7:06 en route to a 55-45 league win Wednesday. Senior Nancy Bowden's three-point play with 5:14 to play broke a 45-45 tie and started a 10-0 Bulldog run to end the game. Junior Cortney Urquhart came off the bench to lead the Bulldogs with 15 points.

UW-MILWAUKEE 64, BUTLER 59 (JAN. 8, 2004, MILWAUKEE, WIS.): Eighteen of Maria Viall's 24 points came in the second half, as the Panthers overcame an eight-point second half deficit to defeat Butler, 64-59. Two late Bulldog threes brought Butler within one at 60-59 with 18 seconds remaining, but Aubrey Hampton would hit six free throws in the last 30 seconds to secure the Panthers' win.

SHE'S GOING THE DISTANCE: Senior Nancy Bowden played the entire 40 minutes of Wednesday's game at Youngstown State, the fifth time she hasn't gone to the bench this season. Angel Mason played a season-high 37 minutes against the Penguins.

GIVE AND TAKE: Through the games of Jan. 18, senior Nancy Bowden's 6.1 assists per game are good for 17th nationally, while her 3.4 steals per contest are tied for 19th in the NCAA.

OFF THE BENCH: Junior Cortney Urquhart came off the bench to lead the Bulldogs Wednesday with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting. For the fourth consecutive game, only two Butler reserves scored at YSU.

A HAND IN ALMOST EVERYTHING: Senior Nancy Bowden has either scored (57) or assisted (105) on 162 of the Bulldogs' 381 field goals this season. That means that Bowden has had a hand in 43 percent of Butler's makes this season.

QUICK SHOTS: The Bulldogs failed to register a block against the Penguins Wednesday, the fifth time this season (and third time in the last four games) that has happened...Freshman Ellen Hamilton's four rebounds against Youngstown State were a new career-high...YSU's 45 points, 17 field goals, two three-pointers and 34 percent shooting were all season-lows for a Butler opponent...Only five players (Bowden, Brenden, Hamilton, Mason and Urquhart) have seen action in all 17 Butler games.

LEAGUE LEADER: Senior Nancy Bowden leads the Horizon League in assists (6.2), steals (3.5) and assist/turnover ratio (1.81).

WE'RE GOING STREAKING: Butler has held its last four opponents to combined 18-of-83 (22 percent) three-point shooting...Senior Angel Mason is averaging 13.5 ppg over the Bulldogs' last four contests...Wednesday's game at YSU was the first in the last seven where the Bulldogs did not lead at the half.

LOOK AT IT THIS WAY: While the Bulldogs' 2-4 league start is not ideal, Butler's four losses (two to UW-Green Bay, one each to UW-Milwaukee and Detroit) have come at the hands of the teams with the three highest RPIs. The Bulldogs' RPI is fifth in the Horizon League, ahead of Wright State, UIC, Loyola and Youngstown State, who have combined for seven league wins.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Senior Nancy Bowden moved into fourth on the Bulldogs' career assists list with her 10 helpers Dec. 6 at Valparaiso. She currently has 452 for her career. The Cincinnati, Ohio, product is also fourth on Butler's career steals list with 258 in her three-plus years at Butler.

LEAGUE HONORS BOWDEN: Senior Nancy Bowden was named the Horizon League's "Player of the Week" for the week of Dec. 15. Bowden tied a career high with 22 points on 7-of-9 shooting in Butler's win over Evansville Dec. 9. She had 11 assists.