Women's Basketball: Weekly Notes

Jan. 28, 2002

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME: The Butler women's basketball team, which had spent the last four games on the road, return home this week to the friendly confines of historic Hinkle Fieldhouse to host Detroit and Cleveland State. The Bulldogs (1-19, 0-9) will battle it out against the Titans (9-9, 4-3) on Thursday (Jan. 31) at 7 p.m. in a game which will be televised locally by WTBU. Butler will then take on Cleveland State (6-11, 2-6) on Saturday (Feb. 2) in a 2 p.m. meeting.

SCOUTING THE TITANS: Detroit enters the game against Butler riding a two-game winning streak. The Titans, which stand alone at fourth place in the league with a 4-3 mark, defeated UIC 83-65 on Jan. 24 and topped IPFW 90-72 in a non-conference match-up on Jan. 26. The Titans enter the contest holding a 22-13 series lead over the Bulldogs, as Detroit has won its last seven meetings against Butler, dating back to the 1998-99 season. The Coaching Staff: At the helm of the Titan squad is head coach Anne Rexford, who is in the midst of her third season with the team and touts a 44-28 overall record. She is assisted by Gary Morris, Laurie Byrdand Jenny Rommel.

The Roster: Three Titan team members rank in the top ten of the league in scoring with Molly Peterman standing in sixth place with 13.7 ppg, followed closely behind by Randee Henry (13.6 ppg) and Michelle James (13.4 ppg). James also leads the league in assists (5.33 apg) and steals (3.28 spg). As a team, Detroit boasts the league's best field goal percentage defense (.367) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.261). Last Time We Met: Detroit captured an 86-68 victory over the visiting Butler women's basketball team on Thursday (Jan. 3) at Calihan Hall. Randee Henry led four Titan players in double figures with 20 points. Teammates Molly Peterman (19), Sara Crum (17) and Michelle James (10) also eclipsed the double-digit mark. Butler was paced by Nancy Bowden's 16 points. Angel Mason added 14 points for the Bulldog effort and Sarah Bolten and Cortney Urquhart each tallied 11 points.

SCOUTING THE VIKINGS: Cleveland State (6-11, 2-6) currently stands in a seventh-place tie with Wright State in the league standings. The Vikings' only two league wins have come against Butler (84-82) and Youngstown State (80-71) as the squad has lost their last six outings. Butler leads the overall series between the two programs, 8-4. The Coaching Staff: Duffy Burns is in his seventh season as the head coach of the Vikings, and has compiled an 85-100 record along the way. He is assisted by Deb Roof, Juli Grant and LeAnna Hicks. The Roster: CSU's Erica Roudebush ranks second in the league in scoring, averaging 16.9 points per game, and leads the league in three-point field goals made (2.47 avg/gm). As a team, the Vikings rank second in the league, averaging 6.41 three-point field goals made per game. CSU will be without the services of senior captains Kim Brockway and Tonya Crum, who elected to leave the team after being indefinitely suspended since Jan. 8 for violating the Cleveland State University Student-Athlete Conduct Code.

Last Time We Met: Erika Roudebush's three-pointer with no time remaining lifted Cleveland State to an 84-82 Horizon League triumph over Butler on Dec. 28 at Goodman Arena. Roudebush's basket was the first time the Vikings had led since the 12:01 mark in the first half. Roudebush finished the game with 33 points, 27 of which came in the second period. She was a perfect 10-of-10 from the line and shot 5-of-8 from behind the arc. Shannon Sword added 13 points and Ashley Schrock dished out eight assists for the Vikings. Sarah Bolten led Butler with a double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds. Tiffany Smith added 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds and Cortney Urquhart finished with a career-high 18 points for the Bulldogs.

RAIDERS SLIP PAST BUTLER: Tiffany Webb's layup with nine seconds remaining in regulation broke a 74-74 tie, and a free throw by Brie Pennington sealed Wright State's 77-74 Horizon League victory over the visiting Butler women's basketball team on Saturday (Jan. 26) at the Ervin J. Nutter Center. The win snapped a four-game losing skid for the Raiders (4-15, 2-6). The loss pushes Butler's losing streak to 13 games, the longest slide in the program's history. Butler saw its 43-37 halftime lead disappear quickly in the second half, as WSU picked up the defensive tempo. After the Raiders led by as many as seven points in the second period, a late Butler run gave the game its ninth tie, 74-74, with 0:39 left to play. With Wright State in control of the ball, Butler inadvertently picked up a foul as the shot clock was winding down on the Raiders, sending Webb to the line with two shots. After missing both of her attempts, Webb grabbed her own rebound and drove the lane for a layup at 0:09. The Bulldogs' three-point attempt on the next possession was off the mark, and Pennington was fouled while going for the defensive rebound. She made the first of her two attempts from the line and the Bulldogs failed to get a shot off as time experied, giving the Raiders their final three-point advantage.

BALANCING ACT: For the second time in three outings, Butler finished with four players in double-figure scoring. Sophomore Nancy Bowden led Butler in scoring against Wright State with a career-high 21 points, and redshirt freshman Angel Mason also tabbed a career-high output, finishing with 15 points. Sophomore Sarah Bolten tallied 14 points in the game and freshman Cortney Urquhart rounded out Butler's offensive attack with 12 points.

TAKE A BOW: Not only did sophomore Nancy Bowden tally a career-high in scoring game against the Raiders, but the 5-3 point guard also posted six assists, without a turnover, five steals, and two rebounds on the game.

NOT HALF BAD: The Bulldogs' 43-36 halftime lead over the Raiders was only the second time Butler had led at intermission. The last time Butler led at the half was a 50-42 advantage over Cleveland State in its league-opener at Goodman Arena.

DIALING LONG DISTANCE: Butler's shooting barrage from behind the arc continued at Wright State, as the Bulldogs knocked down nine treys in the game, which tied an Ervin J. Nutter Center record. To date, the Bulldogs have connected on 127 three pointers, compared to the 2000-01 season's total of 66 triples. Butler ranks third in the league in three-point field goals made, averaging 6.35 per contest.

NOW BOARDING: To go along with Cortney Urquhart's 12 points, the 6-2 freshman also managed to grab a career-high 11 rebounds, for her first double-double of the season. Urquharts' rebounding totals included six offensive caroms. She ranks second on the team, behind teammate Sarah Bolten, with 5.4 rebounds per game, and leads the team with 52 offensive boards.

A SOLID SWIPER: Nancy Bowden posted back-to-back five-steal outings, as she had five steals against UW-Milwaukee and five swipes against the Raiders to boost her season total to 54 steals. Bowden currently ranks second in the league with 2.84 steals per game.

ASSISTING THE TEAM: Sophomore Tiffany Smith turned in a solid performance at Wright State, finishing with a four points, a career-high six assists and three steals.

PANTHERS POUNCE ON BULLDOGS: UW-Milwaukee outscored Butler 44-23 in the first half, en route to a 70-39 victory on Wednesday (Jan. 23) at the Klotsche Center. The loss drops the Bulldogs (1-18) to 0-8 in Horizon League action, while the Panthers (13-5) maintain their share of a first place standing in the league with a perfect 7-0 mark.Butler fell behind early, 23-12, as a three-point basket by UWM's Jessica Wilhite at 11:21 gave the Panthers their first double-digit lead. UW-Milwaukee would expand its lead to 21 points with less than five minutes remaining in the half and would head into the break up 44-23. The Panthers pulled out to a quick 30-point lead in the second period off of a layup by Holly Tamm at 13:39. UWM utilized its deep bench to the fullest for the remainder of the game, as the reserves held the Bulldogs to just four field goals on 16.0 percent (4-25) shooting.

LEADING THE WAY: Redshirt freshman Angel Mason led the Bulldogs in scoring against UWM, posting a team-high nine points on the game. This was the first game this season that Mason had topped the team in scoring.

SCORING DROUGHT: Butler's 39-point output against UW-Milwaukee was a season-low for the squad, surpassing the 44-point output against No. 3 Oklahoma earlier in the season. The Bulldogs also shot a season-low 24 percent (12-50) against the Panthers, and finished with just 12 total field goals - just one shy of their mark of 11 set against UW-Green Bay on Jan. 10.

OFFENSIVELY SPEAKING: The Bulldogs' shots might not be falling as of late, but the team has been getting the job done on the offensive glass. Butler is leading the league with 13.7 offensive rebounds per game as Cortney Urquhart (2.60 rpg) and Sarah Bolten (2.35 rpg) both rank in the top ten of the league in the category. Conversely, the Bulldogs rank last in the Horizon League in defensive rebounds, averaging only 21.1 defensive boards per game.

A PERMANENT FIXTURE: Sophomore Sarah Bolten is the lone Bulldog to start in all 20 contests this season. The 5-10 forward is leading the team in scoring (11.1 ppg) and rebounding (7.6 rpg), while playing an average of 33.9 minutes per contest.

WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS: Injuries have been a common occurrence for this season's Butler women's basketball team. The Bulldogs suffered two season-ending injuries over the holiday break as sophomores Lisa Pryor and Dionne Goodwin were both recent victims of ACL tears causing them to miss the remainder of the season. Pryor, who averaged 9.8 points and had started in 12 games this season, went down with her knee injury with 7:23 remaining in the Cleveland State game after hitting a layup. Goodwin's ACL injury had just developed over the season. Goodwin had played in ten games this season and ranked third in the league with 2.8 offensive rebounds per game.

COACHING STAFF: Head coach Wendy Gatlin, who is in the midst of her third season with the Bulldogs, maintains a 19-55 record with the program. Joining Gatlin (Marshall '92) in the coaching ranks this season are assistant coaches Cathy Marx (Iowa '94), Itoro Coleman (Clemson '99) and the most recent addition, Kim Rockey (Taylor '82), who came to Butler after serving as an assistant coach for Columbia University.

BULLDOGS ON THE INTERNET: For the second consecutive year, selected Butlerwomen's basketball games will be broadcast over the internet on www.butlersports.com. Each of Butler's home games will be broadcast along with selected away games. Broadcasters for the games are Butler telecommunication students Ryan Falquist (color) and Matt Harris (play-by-play).

NEW ADDITIONS: The Butler women's basketball team inked two recruits in the early signing period. Stephanie Boeke, a 5-10 point guard from Minster, Ohio and Nicole Budgake, a 6-3 forward/center from North Canton, Ohio are the newest additions to the 2002-03 roster.

Probable STARTING LINE-UP FOR BUTLER

Name Ht. Pos. Yr. Hometown Nancy Bowden 5-3 Guard Fr. Springdale, Ohio Tiffany Smith 5-8 Guard So. Columbus, Ohio Angel Mason 5-8 Guard Fr. (RS) Evanston, Ill. Sarah Bolten 5-10 Forward So. Batavia, Ohio Cortney Urquhart 6-2 Center Fr. Somerset Center, Mich.