Bulldogs Host Loyola In League Showdown

Feb. 12, 2003

Notes on Loyola

* The Butler women's basketball team will look to put an end to its three-game losing skid on Thursday when the Bulldogs (4-17, 2-8 Horizon League) host Loyola at 7 p.m. The game will be televised locally by WTBU. The Ramblers (8-14) currently stand in sixth place in the league standings, with a 5-6 record. After beginning the season with a 4-0 mark in league action, Loyola has dropped six of its last seven outings.

* Sarah Hamilton and Ciara Henderson have been getting the job for the Ramblers offensively this season, ranking in the top ten of the league in scoring. Hamilton averages 12.9 ppg and Henderson records 12.7 ppg. Maggie Toczylowski also ranks in the top ten of the league in both rebounding (6.8 pg) and blocked shots (1.41 pg)

* The Ramblers return eight letterwinners, including four starters from last season's 15-14 team. Loyola, which was 8-8 in league action last season, was picked to finish third in the league's preseason poll.

*At the helm of the Rambler squad is head coach Mary Helen Walker who is in her fourth season with the team. Walker currently holds a 35-63 overall record at Loyola.

History Lesson: Butler leads the overall series against Loyola, 27-14. The two teams each captured home court victories last season against each other, as Loyola won the first round, 73-51, while Butler claimed an 81-73 victory at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Ramblers were Butler's lone league win last season.

Back Home Again, In Indiana: Loyola boasts a trio of Indiana players on its roster. Junior Marianne Nethery hails from Noblesville, while sophomore Meskhenet Lands (Southport H.S.) and Sarah Waltz (Decatur Central H.S.) each call Indianapolis their hometown.

Last Time Out: Jaysie Chambers recorded a triple-double of 20 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists to lead UIC to an 82-64 win over the Butler women's basketball team on Saturday evening at the UIC Pavilion. The Flames, which shot 60 percent and outscored the Bulldogs 46-33 in the second half, dominated Butler on the boards, 53-35. Nancy Bowden and Lisa Pryor led Butler with 11 points apiece, while sophomore Angel Mason chipped in 10. Bowden also recorded a team-high eight assists and six rebounds on the game.

Nice One Nikki: Freshman Nikki Budgake posted solid numbers in both of Butler's outings last week. Against Western Kentucky, Budgake scored four points to go along with her season-high seven rebounds and one blocked shot. She then tallied eight points, one shy of her personal-best, to go along with five rebounds and a career-high two steals at UIC.

No Big Deal: Junior Nancy Bowden may stand just five-foot, two-inches, but she has been playing big over the last few games. Bowden pulled down six rebounds in each of Butler's games against Cleveland State and also tallied a career-high two blocked shots on the road against the Vikings. She then led the Bulldogs with six caroms at UIC to boost her season average to 4.0 rebounds per game, which ranks third on the team.

Bench Press: For one of the few times all season, Butler's bench outscored UIC's, 24-7. Nikki Budgake led the reserves with eight points, followed by Stephanie Boeke (6), Tiffany Smith (5), Colleen-Munro-Leighton (3) and Haley Dunkman (2).

Welcome Back: Junior Tiffany Smith wasted no time in getting herself back on the scoreboard, after being sidelined for seven games due to a stress fracture in her leg. Smith scored five points and recorded two rebounds and one steal in her seven minutes played against the Flames. Smith made an immediate impact, hitting a long three-pointer after entering the game just five seconds prior. She averages 7.4 points and 2.6 rebounds for the Bulldogs.

Look Familiar?: Butler's stats against Western Kentucky and UIC look quite familiar. The Bulldogs tallied a season-high eight treys against both the Lady Toppers and the Flames, but recorded a season-low seven steals against both teams as well. Butler was also crushed on the board in both games, as WKU held a 45-30 edge and UIC outrebounded Butler 53-35.

Showing Improvement: Butler's win over Cleveland State eclipses the team's win total from last season, as they improve to 4-17 overall and 2-8 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.

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.

Double Duty: Cortney Urquhart has tallied a team-best six double-doubles on the season, including four against league opponents. Angel Mason has recorded three double-double outings and Nancy Bowden also has two double-doubles under her belt this season.

Line 'Em Up: Sophomore Cortney Urquhart is the lone Butler player to have started in all 21 games this season. Nancy Bowden has started in 20 of the team's affairs, while no other player has appeared in the starting lineup more than 16 times. Head coach Beth Couture has used ten different starting lineups throughout the season, however she has elected to use the lineup of Urquhart, Bowden, Jessica Monaco, Angel Mason and Lisa Pryor for the last six outings.

Doing The Time: There is no rest for the weary as point guard Nancy Bowden has already compiled 771 in her 21 games played for an average of 36.7 minutes per outing. Bowden has played 40+ minutes in eight games thus far, including playing all 45 minutes in Butler's overtime win over Cleveland State.

Top Dog: Nancy Bowden leads the Horizon League with 6.5 assists per game, nearly two assists better than the player ranked second. Bowden also ranks first in steals per game (3.14) and ranks second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.62). Her solid numbers have also put her in the national spotlight, as she ranks 15th among Division 1 players in assists and 29th in steals.

Top Ten List: Cortney Urquhart ranks in the Top Ten of the league in several categories, including offensive rebounds (3rd), rebounding (4th), defensive rebounds (6th), field goal percentage (10th) and blocked shots (10th).

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.

Balancing Act: The Bulldogs boast a balanced offensive attack as five players are averaging 7.4 points or more. Angel Mason is leading the team with 11.1 points per game, followed by Nancy Bowden (10.4 ppg), Cortney Urquhart (10.4 ppg), Lisa Pryor (10.0 ppg) and Tiffany Smith (7.4 ppg).

Doubling Over: Eight different players have recorded double-figure scoring outings for the Bulldogs. Nancy Bowden and Cortney Urquhart lead the way with 14 double-digit scoring outings each, followed by Angel Mason (13), Lisa Pryor (12), Tiffany Smith (4) and Stephanie Boeke (4), Jessica Monaco (4) 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 19 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 missed seven games, appearing back on the court for the first time against UIC.

Missing Maria: Sophomore forward Maria Marchesano's absence on the court is something the Bulldogs have missed for the last 19 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.

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.

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).

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.

Up Next: Butler will continue its two-game homestand on Saturday when the Bulldogs take on Detroit at 2 p.m. Butler will be seeking revenge against the Titans, after it's 84-79 overtime loss at Calihan Hall earlier this season. The Bulldogs have lost their last eight outings to Detroit.