Women's Basketball: Weekly Release

Feb. 11, 2002

HOME STRETCH: The Butler women's basketball team will remain at home in the friendly confines of Hinkle Fieldhouse for the remainder of the regular season, as the Bulldogs are in the midst of a four-game homestand. The Bulldogs (1-23, 0-13) are slated to take on Horizon League rival Loyola (12-10, 6-5) on Thursday (Feb. 14) at 7 p.m. and will battle it out against UIC (12-12, 4-8) on Saturday (Feb. 16) immediately proceeding the Butler men's basketball game against Youngstown State at noon.

SCOUTING THE RAMBLERS: After seeing its six-game winning streak snapped two weeks ago by UW-Green Bay, the Ramblers have lost four in a row heading into this week's match-up against Butler. Butler leads the all-time series between the two programs, 26-13.

The Coaching Staff: At the helm of the Loyola women's basketball team is head coach Mary Helen Walker. Walker, who is in her third season with the Ramblers, has compiled a 26-52 record throughout her tenure. She is assisted by Priscilla Rickenbacker and Michele Ratay.

The Roster: The Ramblers return 11 letterwinners from last season's 11-18 squad, and are led in scoring by preseason All-League second team selection Tracy Hoffman's 10.3 points per game. As a team, Loyola leads the league in free throw shooting (.744) and blocked shots (3.91 pg).

Last Time We Met: Butler dropped a 73-51 decision to Loyola on Jan. 17 at the Joseph J. Gentile Center. The first half was close throughout, as the Bulldogs held a narrow 20-16 lead at 7:31. But an 8-0 Rambler run, spurred by six consecutive free throws by Lauren Sirus, would put Loyola up for good, as the hosts went into intermission up 32-27.

The Bulldogs started out cold in the second half, as the Ramblers would quickly turn their lead into double-digits. Butler managed to cut the gap to ten points off of a Cortney Urquhart layup at 13:16, but a 9-1 surge by Loyola at the end of the game would put the contest out of reach for the Bulldogs.

Butler was led by Sarah Bolten's 13 points and nine rebounds, followed by Nancy Bowden's 10-point effort. Sirus led Loyola with 19 points, while teammate Beth Dilling added a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.

PENGUINS FREEZE BUTLER: Heather Harris led three Youngstown State players in double figure scoring, as the Penguins downed the Butler women's basketball team 62-52 on Saturday (Feb. 9) at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The loss pushes the Bulldogs' losing skid to 17 games.

The Penguins used a 16-2 run and a five and a half minute Butler scoring drought to build up a 34-22 halftime lead. The Bulldogs, who were down by as many as 17 points early in the second half, cut the deficit to eight points (49-41) off of a three-pointer by Sarah Bolten with 8:44 remaining. A free throw by Harris with under four minutes left to play would give YSU a 14-point advantage, but the Bulldogs would go on a 7-0 run, sparked by five straight points from Maria Marchesano, to bring Butler to within 57-50 at 2:01. That was as close as Butler would come, though, as Youngstown State put the game away at the free throw line in the final minutes.

MARCH MADNESS: Freshman Maria Marchesano recorded a team-best 13 points in Butler's loss to Youngstown State. The reserve guard scored has led the team in scoring three times this season and is averaging 7.3 points per game.

DEFENSIVE STAND: Youngstown State's 62 point output marked the least points scored on the Bulldogs this season. Butler's previous defensive best was Texas-San Antonio's 67 points on Nov. 23. The Bulldogs currently rank last in the league in scoring defense, allowing opponents to score an average of 81.9 points per game.

FREEBIES: The Bulldogs posted impressive marks from the free throw line against the Penguins, as the squad went 11-of-12 from the charity stripe, for a season-high 91.7 percent.

CHARITY WORK: Sarah Bolten's 2-for-2 performance from the charity stripe against Youngstown State helped move her into first place in the Horizon League in free throw shooting. Bolten is shooting 87.5 percent from the free throw line overall this season, and is recording a stellar 95.8 percent (23-24) clip in league action. Her only miss against a league opponent came against UIC on Jan. 19.

PHOENIX RACE PAST BULLDOGS: Horizon League leading UW-Green Bay used a big first half to roll past the Butler women's basketball team, 89-53, on Thursday (Jan. 7) at the Phoenix Sports Center.

UW-Green Bay (18-5, 12-0) jumped out to a 45-16 first half advantage and never looked back. The Phoenix missed only three field goals in the first ten minutes of the contest, shooting 80 percent in that time period.

SHAKY START: The Bulldogs got off to a rough start against the Phoenix, as the Bulldogs found themselves down by 11 just five minutes into the contest. Butler shot 33.3 percent in the first half, including a cold 14.3 percent (1-7) clip from long range. The Bulldogs also struggled to find the mark from the free throw line, converting only 40 percent of their attempts.

GETTING TO THE HART OF THE MATTER: Freshman Cortney Urquhart led the Bulldogs in scoring for the first time this season, posting a game-high 18 points against UW-Green Bay. The 6-2 rookie went an impressive 7-of-8 from the field, and a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Her 18 points ties a career high.

ROUTE 66: Sophomore Nancy Bowden might not have hit her average in scoring (10.0 ppg) against the Phoenix, but the 5-3 point guard found other ways to produce. Bowden pulled down a team-best six rebounds on the game to go along with her six assists and two steals.

QUALITY TIME: Nancy Bowden also put in the time on the court against the Phoenix, playing all 40 minutes in Thursday night's contest. This marks the fourth time this season that the Springdale, Ohio product has played in 40+ minutes. She put in her time against UIC (Jan. 19), Wright State (Jan. 26) and played an incredible 42 minutes in Butler's 78-73 overtime victory over Bowling Green (Dec. 4).

STOP THIEF!: Butler followed up its 16 steal performance against Cleveland State by nabbing 12 steals against the Phoenix. Redshirt freshman Angel Mason grabbed a career-high four steals on the game, while classmate Maria Marchesano recorded a career-high three swipes on the outing.

TRIPLE THREAT: Freshman Maria Marchesano helped keep Butler's 33-game streak with a three-point field goal alive, as she knocked down three treys, on 3-of-8 shooting, in Butler's loss to the Penguins. Teammates Sarah Bolten and Tiffany Smith were the only other Butler players to connect from long range on the game. To date, the Bulldogs have connected on 147 three pointers, compared to the 2000-01 season's total of 66 triples. Butler ranks fifth in the league in three-point field goals made, averaging 6.12 per contest, but are tied for the league lead with Cleveland State in three-point field goals attempted (509).

LEADING THE WAY: Eight 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), Maria Marchesano (three times), Lisa Pryor (three times), Tiffany Smith (twice), Dionne Goodwin (once) and Angel Mason (once), Cortney Urquhart (once).

A PERMANENT FIXTURE: Sophomore Sarah Bolten is the lone Bulldog to start in all 24 contests this season. The 5-10 forward leads team in scoring (10.5 ppg) and in rebounding (7.7 rpg), while playing an average of 34.4 minutes per contest.

COACHING STAFF: Head coach Wendy Gatlin, who is in the midst of her third season with the Bulldogs, maintains a 19-59 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.

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 initial 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 at the time of her injury.

COACHING STAFF: Head coach Wendy Gatlin, who is in the midst of her third season with the Bulldogs, maintains a 19-58 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

UPCOMING: Butler will host Illinois-Chicago on Saturday (Feb. 16) at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m., immediately following the Butler men's basketball game against Youngstown State which begins at 2 p.m. The Flames are currently seventh place in the league, and defeated Butler 83-76 on Jan. 19 at the UIC Pavilion in the two teams' first match-up of the season.