Bulldogs Look To Make It Two In A Row Against Cleveland State

Jan. 31, 2003

Notes on CSU

* The Butler women's basketball team will hope to begin the second half of the Horizon League season where they left off - with a win over Cleveland State. The Bulldogs (4-14, 2-6 Horizon League), who are fresh off a 71-69 overtime victory over the Vikings, will travel to Cleveland on Saturday to take on CSU (5-13, 3-5 Horizon League) at the Convocation Center. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m.

* Head coach Duffy Burns is in his eighth season with the Vikings. He has compiled a 97-117 overall record while at CSU.

* The Vikings return ten letterwinners and all five starters back from last season's 13-15 squad. Cleveland State, which finished sixth in the league during the 2002-03 campaign, was picked to finish fourth in the league's preseason poll.

* The Vikings boast one of the top guards in the league in senior Erika Roudebush. Roudebush, a native of Noblesville, Ind., averages 17.7 points per game, which ranks fourth in the league. Teammate Ashley Schrock ranks second in the league in assists (4.88 apg) and third in rebounding (7.5 rpg).

Overtime Action: Angel Mason scored seven of Butler's ten points in overtime, including the game-winning shot at the buzzer to lift the Bulldogs to a 71-69 triumph over Cleveland State on Wednesday evening at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Snapping The Streak: The Horizon League victory over the Vikings snapped a six-game losing streak for Butler, the team's longest of the season. It also broke a five-game winning drought against CSU, which dated back to the 1999 season. Entering Wednesday's game, the Vikings had won six of the last seven meetings.

Familiar Faces: In a strange twist of scheduling, the Bulldogs have a chance to win back-to-back games against the Vikings. Butler has not won consecutive games since midway through the 2000-01 campaign when the Bulldogs ousted UIC and Wright State in consecutive outings.

Home Turf: Several members of the Butler women's basketball team will be on familiar territory on Saturday as the Bulldogs have six players from Ohio - Stephanie Boeke (Minster), Nancy Bowden (Cincinnati), Lisa Pryor (Columbus), Tiffany Smith (Columbus), Dionne Goodwin (Mansfield) and Nikki Budgake (North Canton).

Stolen Moments: Butler's defense played a key role in its win over Cleveland State, as the Bulldogs swiped a season-high 17 steals against the Vikings. Seven Butler players recorded at least one steal on the game, led by Nancy Bowden's four swipes.

Showing Improvement: Butler's win over Cleveland State also eclipses the team's win total from last season, as they improve to 4-14 overall and 2-6 in the Horizon League. The Bulldogs finished with a 3-26 overall ledger and were 1-15 in league action during the 2001-02 campaign.

Not Half Bad: For only the fifth time all season, the Bulldogs led at halftime, holding a slim 27-26 lead over the Vikings. Butler is 3-2 this season when leading at the half.

A Double Dose: For the sixth time this season, four or more players scored in double-figures for the Bulldogs. Sophomore Cortney Urquhart led the Butler offense with 16 points, after scoring 11 of the team's first 13 points. Nancy Bowden recorded 15 points and Angel Mason added 13. Freshman Jessica Monaco came up one point shy of her season high, finishing with 10.

Leader Of The Pack: Six different players have led Butler in scoring this season, including Angel Mason, Nancy Bowden, Cortney Urquhart, Lisa Pryor and Tiffany Smith who have all been the Top Dog on two or more occasions and Stephanie Boeke who led Butler in scoring against Loyola.

Give 'Em A Hand: For the third time in four games, Butler's opponents have committed more turnovers than the Bulldogs. Butler forced 26 Cleveland State turnovers, while only committing 14 itself. In addition, Youngstown State committed 12 turnovers (vs. 11 for Butler) and UW-Milwaukee tallied 18 miscues (vs. 12 for Butler.)

Double Duty: Sophomores Angel Mason and Cortney Urquhart tallied their fourth and fifth respective double-doubles of the season against Cleveland State. Mason recorded 13 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, while Urquhart posted 16 points and a career-best 14 rebounds against the Vikings. Nancy Bowden is the only other Bulldog to record a double-double on the season, as she has two under her belt thus far.

Looking For Charity: Butler put together its best team free throw performance of the season together against Cleveland State, knocking down 72.2 percent (26-36) of its shots. The 26 free throws made were also a season high for the Bulldogs, who average a league-worst 62.3 percent as a team from the line. Two players in particular stepped it up big for the Bulldogs, as sophomore Cortney Urquhart who averages 48 percent from the line on the season was 8-of-11 and freshman Jessica Monaco, who is shooting only 62 percent from the charity stripe, went 5-of-6, including the pair that tied the game at 69 in overtime.

Top Dog: Nancy Bowden leads the Horizon League with 6.4 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 (1.55). Her solid numbers have also put her in the national spotlight, as she ranks 15th among Division 1 players in assists and 26th 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.

Line 'Em Up: Sophomore Cortney Urquhart is the lone Butler player to have started in all 18 games this season. Nancy Bowden has started in 17 of the team's affairs, while no other player has appeared in the starting lineup more than 13 times. Head coach Beth Couture has used ten different starting lineups throughout the season.

Balancing Act: The Bulldogs boast a balanced offensive attack as six players are averaging 7.2 points or more. Angel Mason is leading the team with 11.3 points per game, followed by Nancy Bowden (10.9 ppg), Cortney Urquhart (10.2 ppg), Lisa Pryor (9.6 ppg), Tiffany Smith (7.5 ppg) and Stephanie Boeke (7.2 ppg).

Doubling Over: Eight different players have recorded double-figure scoring outings for the Bulldogs. Nancy Bowden leads the way with 13 double figure scoring outings apiece, followed by Cortney Urquhart (12), Angel Mason (11), Lisa Pryor (9), Tiffany Smith (4) and Stephanie Boeke (4), Jessica Monaco (2) and Dionne Goodwin (1).

Injury Prone: For the second consecutive year, the Bulldogs have again been plagued by numerous injuries. Sophomore guard/forward Maria Marchesano has missed 16 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 and is listed as day-to-day.

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.

Watch Out For The Bulldogs: Butler fans will get to watch the Bulldogs take on Loyola on February 13, as the game with will be televised locally by WTBU. All of Butler's remaining home games will be broadcast on the internet this season. Log onto www.butlersports.com to listen to Butler telecommunication students broadcast the games.

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).

Loving The League: Sophomore Cortney Urquhart has stepped up her game since the Bulldogs entered the Horizon League season. Urquhart's scoring average (11.1 ppg) is nearly two points better against league foes and her rebounding average is at 8.4 per game, compared to 7.2 per game overall. Urquhart has also posted three double-doubles in league action - 17-point, 12-rebound performance against Detroit, a 20-point, 11-rebound outing against Wright State and a 16-point, 14-rebound game against Cleveland State.

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.

Nice One Nikki!: Freshman Nikki Budgake had one of the better games of her young collegiate career against Cleveland State, when she recorded seven points and a career-high four rebounds against the Vikings. The 6-3 center is averaging 2.1 points and 1.3 rebounds on the 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 stay on the road, traveling to Bowling Green, Ky. to battle it out against Western Kentucky in non-conference action on Monday (Feb. 3). Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. This is the first-ever meeting between Butler and the Lady Toppers, who return ten letterwinners from last year's 16-14 team. WKU is currently 11-8 on the season, which includes a 7-2 mark on its home court.