Bulldogs Face UW-Milwaukee In League Showdown

Jan. 24, 2003

Notes on UWM

* The Panthers have been one of the Horizon League's most unpredictable teams this season, as they enter into Saturday's bout with a 7-10 overall record and a 3-4 mark in league action, which puts them in seventh place in the standings. UW-Milwaukee, which was picked to finish second in the league, has not won consecutive games all season, but will be looking to do so against Butler after coming off a 76-65 win over Wright State on Thursday evening.

* 2002 Horizon League Player of the Year Maria Viall looks to be in contention for a repeat performance, as she ranks in the Top Five of the league in scoring (17.6 ppg), rebounding (9.4 rpg), field goal percentage (.561) and blocked shots (2.06 bpg). Senior Jessica Wilhite, who was named to last season's Second Team All-League squad, is the lone other player to average double figures in scoring, posting 13.2 points per game.

* As a team, UW-Milwaukee holds a 7.5+ rebounding margin over its foes, which leads the league. The Panthers also rank second in the league in team field goal shooting at 43 percent.

* Head coach Sandy Botham enters Saturday's game with an 126-81 overall record at UW-Milwaukee. She is assisted by Joe Conroy, Nicole Lushsinger and Lea Robinson.

History Lesson: Butler holds a slim 8-7 overall series lead over the Panthers, but the Bulldogs have lost the last five meetings, dating back to the 1999-00 season. Butler fell to the Panthers 79-47 at Hinkle Fieldhouse and 70-39 at the Klotsche Center last season.

Phoenix Fly Past Butler: No. 16 UW-Green Bay outscored Butler 35-8 in the second half to claim a 75-36 Horizon League win on Thursday evening at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Phoenix, which have won ten straight, improve to 16-2 overall and remain undefeated in league action at 7-0. Butler dropped its fifth consecutive outing, falling to 3-13 overall and 1-5 in the league.

A Tale Of Two Halves: After shooting 50 percent in the first half, the Bulldogs went cold in the final 20 minutes, connecting on just 3-of-25 field goals (12 percent). Butler also went 0-for-8 from long range in the second half after shooting 67 percent (4-6) in the first half. Butler was tied with UW-Green Bay 24-24 with seven minutes remaining in the first period before the Phoenix closed out the game on a 51-8 run.

Pryor Pours It On: Junior Lisa Pryor came up two points shy of her career-high by scoring a team-leading 16 points against the Phoenix. All of Pryor's points came in the first half, though, as UW-Green Bay held her scoreless for the final 20 minutes of the game.

Quite A Lopsided Loss: UW-Green Bay's 39-point victory over Butler marked the Bulldogs' biggest loss since they played No. 3 Oklahoma last season and fell 90-44.

Looking High...And Low: The Bulldogs recorded several season lows in their loss to the nationally-ranked Phoenix. Included in these were final points (36), field goals attempted (49), field goals made (15), field goal percentage (30.6%), free throws attempted (6), free throws made (2), free throw percentage (33.3%) and assists (4).

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.

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 (11.7 ppg) and rebounding (8.0 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.

Double Duty: Sophomore Cortney Urquhart tallied the Bulldogs' fifth double-double of the season with a 20-point, 11-rebound effort against the Wright State. 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.

Top Dog: Nancy Bowden leads the Horizon League with 6.7 assists per game, nearly two assists better than the player ranked second. Bowden also ranks first in steals per game (3.25) and ranks second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.57). 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 11.1 points per game, followed by Nancy Bowden (10.6 ppg), Cortney Urquhart (9.9 ppg), Lisa Pryor (9.6 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 (8), 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 14 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 recently sidelined, suffering stress fractures in both of her legs. She is expected to miss the next month of action. And freshman Stephanie Boeke was Butler's latest injury victim, as an ankle sprain will keep her off the court for the next few games.

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.

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: One more of the Butler women's basketball home games will be televised locally by WTBU as Butler fans will get to watch the Bulldogs take on Loyola on February 13. In addition, all of the Butler women's basketball home games will be broadcast on the internet this season. 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.

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 will conclude its three-game homestand on Wednesday (Jan. 29) when the Bulldogs host Cleveland State in a 7 p.m. game. The Vikings (5-11), which have won three straight after beginning the season with a 2-11 ledger, are currently 3-3 in the league.