Women's Basketball: Weekly Release

Feb. 4, 2002

WISCONSIN BOUND: The Butler women's basketball team will make its final regular-season road trip on Thursday (Feb. 7) as the Bulldogs travel to Green Bay, Wis. to take on the Horizon League-leading Phoenix (16-5, 10-0) in an 8 p.m. meeting. Following the game against the Phoenix, the Bulldogs (1-21, 0-10) will play their final four league games at home in Hinkle Fieldhouse, beginning with Youngstown State on Saturday (Feb. 9) at 2 p.m.

SCOUTING THE PHOENIX: UW-Green Bay is riding a ten-game winning streak entering into the game against Butler. The Phoenix (16-5) stand alone atop the Horizon League standings with a perfect 10-0 mark. UWGB holds a 10-8 all-time series record over Butler, as the Bulldogs have lost their last seven outings to the Phoenix. UWGB is slated to play Detroit tonight (Jan. 4) at 7 p.m.

The Coaching Staff: At the helm of the Phoenix squad is head coach Kevin Borseth, who is in his fourth season with the team. Borseth, who has compiled an impressive 78-33 record in his tenure with UWGB, is assisted by Dawn Plitzuweit, Kris Johnson and Shannon Baugh.

The Roster: UWGB is led in scoring by preseason first team All-League selection Mandy Stowe (16.5 ppg). Teammates Sara Boyer (14.5 ppg) and Amanda Leonhard (10.8 ppg), another first team All-League selection, also average double figures in scoring for the Phoenix. As a team, UW-Green Bay leads the league many categories, including scoring offense (72.8 ppg), scoring margin (+12.6 ppg), field goal percentage (.480), three-point field goal percentage (.390) and scoring defense (60.2 ppg).

Last Time We Met: UW-Green Bay shot past the cold-shooting Bulldogs en route to a 82-46 win on Jan. 10 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Phoenix pulled out to an early lead as Butler failed to score its first field goal of the game until the 14:05 of the first half. The Phoenix wasted no time in building upon its 43-20 halftime lead, as the squad shot 50.8 percent on the game and forced the Bulldogs into 29 turnovers.

The visitors were led in scoring by Chandra Johnson (15) and Sara Boyer (12). Butler, which most of the game without point guard Nancy Bowden, was paced by Maria Marchesano's 13 points.

VIKINGS ESCAPE WITH VICTORY OVER BUTLER: Cleveland State rallied back from a nine-point late second half deficit to defeat Butler 79-71 on Saturday, Feb. 2 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The loss extends the Bulldogs' losing streak to 15 games, as Butler falls to 1-21 and 0-11 in league action.

The Bulldogs increased their five-point (39-35) halftime lead to 10 early on in the second stanza. But, an 8-0 run by the Vikings (9-11, 4-6 HL) would cut the advantage to 48-46 with 13:48 remaining. A jumper by Cortney Urquhart at 6:27 would cap off an 8-0 Butler run and push the Bulldogs' lead back up to 66-57.

CSU's defensive pressure then took over, as the Vikings forced Butler into five turnovers and held the Bulldogs scoreless over the next four minutes. During that time period, Cleveland State went on a 12-0 run, sparked by Ashley Schrock's seven consecutive points, and took a 70-66 lead. A three-pointer by Maria Marchesano and a basket by Sarah Bolten would give Butler its final lead (71-70) with two minutes left to play. But, Butler foul trouble proved to be a factor as the Vikings would capitalize on their numerous trips to the free throw line in the game's final minutes.

WE'RE HALFWAY THERE: Butler's 39-35 halftime lead against CSU marked only the third time all season that the Bulldogs had held the advantage at intermission. The Bulldogs also led at the break against Wright State (43-36) and in their previous outing against the Vikings (50-42) on Dec. 28. In the only contest that Butler has won all season, a 78-73 OT victory over Bowling Green on Dec. 4, the Bulldogs were down 30-24 at halftime.

POINT OF INTEREST: Sophomore Nancy Bowden led the Bulldogs in scoring against Cleveland State, recording 15 points on the game. This was the third consecutive game that the 5-3 point guard had topped Butler in the scoring column, as Bowden had 21 points against Wright State and 19 points against Detroit.

DETROIT DROPS BULLDOGS: Detroit used a 29-6 early second half run to race past the Butler women's basketball team, 84-59, on Thursday (Jan. 31) in a Horizon League tilt at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Butler held a 17-11 early edge on the Titans, but a pair of baskets by Sara Crum began a 14-3 Detroit run that would send the Titans into halftime with a 35-26 advantage.

Detroit continued to dominate early in the second half, making their first six shots and climbing to a 53-34 lead with 14:45 left to play. Butler would continue to narrow the gap, as consecutive three-pointers by Allie Schmidt would cut Detroit's advantage to 71-56 with under five minutes remaining in the contest. But, the Titans would capitalize on numerous Butler turnovers in the game's final minutes to seal the victory.

HOT SHOTS: Butler overcame a poor 32.8 percent (20-61) field goal shooting outing against Detroit to post a season-high 45.8 percent (27-59) clip from the field against the Vikings.

DOUBLE TAKE: Sophomore Nancy Bowden just barely missed her first career double-double, scoring a team-best 19 points and pulling down a career-high nine rebounds against the Titans. She also contributed three assists and two steals in her 38 minutes played against Detroit.

STOP THIEF!: The Bulldogs posted 16 steals against Cleveland State, a total that is just two shy of the team's season high of 18 set against CSU in the teams' first meeting on Dec. 28. Seven players logged at least one swipe on the game, with Sarah Bolten leading the way with a career-high five steals, followed by Nancy Bowden who tallied four swipes.

MARCHING ON: Freshman Maria Marchesano helped keep Butler's 31-game streak with a three-point field goal alive, as she knocked down three treys in Butler's loss to Cleveland State. Marchesano's trio of three-pointers were the lone shots that the Bulldogs made from beyond the arc in the game. To date, the Bulldogs have connected on 138 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 6.43 per contest.

LEADING THE WAY: Seven different players have led Butler in scoring this season. Sophomore Nancy Bowden has led the offensive attack in eight games, followed by Sarah Bolten (seven times), Lisa Pryor (three times), Tiffany Smith (twice), Maria Marchesano (twice), Dionne Goodwin (once) and Angel Mason (once).

CHARITY WORK: The Bulldogs made the most out of their opportunities to the free throw line against Detroit and Cleveland State. Butler shot 84.6 percent (11-13) from the charity stripe against the Titans and a blazing 87.5 percent (14-16) from the line against the Vikings. As a team, the Bulldogs are shooting 68.8 percent from the line. Sarah Bolten is leading the team in free throw shooting (.860) followed by teammate Nancy Bowden (.778).

CLEANING THE GLASS: Sophomore Sarah Bolten's game-high 12 rebounds against the Vikings marked the 15th game that the Batavia, Ohio native has led the team on the glass. Her impressive outing against CSU also marked the eighth time this season that Bolten has reached double-figures in rebounding.

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 13.36 offensive rebounds per game as Cortney Urquhart (2.55 rpg) and Sarah Bolten (2.36 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 21.5 defensive boards per game.

A PERMANENT FIXTURE: Sophomore Sarah Bolten is the lone Bulldog to start in all 21 contests this season. The 5-10 forward ranks second on the team in scoring (10.7 ppg) and leads the squad in rebounding (7.8 rpg), while playing an average of 34.4 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 19-57 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 Butler women'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