Bulldogs Travel to UIC Saturday for Important League Contest

Feb. 20, 2004

THE TIP: Butler (10-14, 6-7 Horizon) continues its Chicago swing Saturday at UIC (12-13, 6-8). The Bulldogs lead the Flames by a half-game for fifth place in the league standings and will be looking to duplicate their win over UIC ten days ago at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The 5:30 p.m. (CST) tip will be broadcast live on the Internet at www.butlersports.com.

BULLDOG UPDATE: The Bulldogs come off an 88-85 overtime loss at Loyola Thursday, eliminating an 11-point deficit over the last three minutes of regulation. Butler has won six of their last ten games thanks in large part to an offense that is averaging 84 ppg over their last three games. Senior Nancy Bowden leads the Bulldogs with 11.5 ppg and 6.4 apg. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native is coming off a career-high 27 points Thursday against the Ramblers.

AGAINST THE FLAMES: Butler and UIC meet for the 29th time Saturday, with the Bulldogs owning a 18-10 advantage, including an 89-81 win Feb. 12 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Butler owns a 7-5 edge in games played in Chicago. The series between the Flames and Bulldogs dates back to Dec. 1, 1984.

BREAKING DOWN UIC: The Flames enter Thursday's contest with a record of 12-13 overall and 6-8 in league play. UIC currently sits a half-game behind Butler for fifth place in the standings. Sophomore Chrissy Dizon leads the Flames with 14.5 ppg, including putting up 26 against the Bulldogs in the teams' first meeting. UIC lost to UW-Milwaukee, 73-64, Thursday in Chicago.

LAST TIME OUT (BUTLER, LOYOLA; FEB. 19, 2004, CHICAGO): The Bulldogs mounted a 13-2 run over the last 3:14 of regulation to force the game into overtime, but freshman Ellen Hamilton's three at the horn rimmed out to give the Ramblers an 88-85 win. Nancy Bowden's career-high 27 points led the Bulldogs, while Cortney Urquhart also posted a career-high with 23 points off the bench. Ciara Henderson led the Ramblers with 24 points.

FIRST TIME AROUND (BUTLER 89, UIC 81; FEB. 12, 2004, INDIANAPOLIS): Sophomore Jessica Monaco posted a career-high 18 points in her first start of the season, leading the Bulldogs to an 89-81 victory over UIC Thursday at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Butler hit a school-record 14 three-pointers and had four players in double figures, led by freshman Jackie Closser's 19.

GIVE AND TAKE: Through the games of Feb. 16, senior Nancy Bowden's 3.4 steals per contest are tenth in the NCAA, while her 6.3 assists per game are good for 16th nationally. Bowden is one of only three players in the nation who is in the top 20 in both steals and assists. She leads the Horizon League in assists, steals and assist/turnover ratio.

CAREER NIGHTS: Senior Nancy Bowden went for a career-high 27 points Thursday, including 10-of-12 from the free throw line. Bowden also picked up her 500th career assist in the contest. Junior Cortney Urquhart had a career-high 23 points off the bench on 9-of-13 shooting. Urquhart hit all seven of her first-half attempts.

QUICK SHOTS: Loyola remains one of just two league teams that coach Beth Couture has yet to defeat in her short tenure on the Butler sidelines (Couture is 0-5 against UW-Green Bay and 0-3 vs. Loyola)...Jessica Monaco hit her first six shots against UIC en route to her career-high 18 points Feb. 12. The Bulldogs are averaging 84 ppg since Monaco entered the starting lineup.

OFF THE BENCH: Butler's bench got out-scored by Loyola's reserves, 46-29, in Thursday's loss. It was just the fifth time that Butler's subs have been out-done by the opponent's (the Bulldogs bench matched Wisconsin's, 13-13, Nov. 29); the Bulldogs have lost all six of those games. Butler's bench has out-scored the opponent's 18 times, including all ten wins.

FIRST DATES: Butler takes on UIC for the second time in ten days Saturday. Four of the Bulldogs' final six regular season games will be against the Flames and Loyola. Butler will play both Loyola and UIC twice in a span of ten days after playing UW-Green Bay twice in one week in January. The Bulldogs concluded their regular season series with six teams before playing Loyola once.

STARTING OUT: The starting five against UIC Feb. 12 was the seventh different starting lineup used by coach Beth Couture and was the second lineup this season that included players from five different states...Nine players have started games this season, including senior Nancy Bowden, who has started all 24...When freshman Ellen Hamilton (Greenfield, Ind./Greenfield Central) replaced the injured Lisa Pryor in the starting lineup against Miami (Ohio), it was the first time an Indiana native had cracked the Bulldogs' starting lineup this season.

EXPECT SOME OFFENSE: Butler and UIC combined for 25 three-pointers Feb. 12, six shy of the NCAA record, with redshirt sophomore Maria Marchesano connecting on all four of her attempts from deep in just six minutes of play. The teams combined for 170 points in the shootout.

MARATHON WOMAN: Senior Nancy Bowden has played the entire 45 minutes in both of the Bulldogs' overtime games this season. In the two games, she's averaging 17.5 points, nine assists, six rebounds and 4.5 steals. She's gone the distance in nine games this season.

LEARNING ON THE JOB: Freshmen Ashley Brenden, Jackie Closser and Ellen Hamilton are making big contributions for the Bulldogs. Closser and Hamilton are shooting a combined 37 percent (70-190) from three-point range, while Brenden leads the team in blocks. Hamilton and Brenden have each started 16 of the team's 24 games. The Bulldogs are 3-1 this season when a freshman leads the team in scoring.

MAN, THESE LADIES ARE HOT: Butler's starters shot 18-of-23 (78 percent) in Saturday's win over YSU...Freshman Ellen Hamilton has hit 17 consecutive free throws dating back to the Jan. 10 game at UW-Green Bay. Hamilton has hit 21 of her 22 attempts on the season (96 percent).

NUMBERS GAME: Butler's 79-45 win over YSU Saturday matched the largest margin of victory in a league game this season (Cleveland State defeated YSU, 88-54, Dec. 30)...The Bulldogs are in the Top 50 in the nation in fewest turnovers committed. The Bulldogs' 15.6 miscues per game are 40th in the NCAA and second in the Horizon League...The Bulldogs pulled down a season-high 47 rebounds Feb. 14 against Youngstown State.

BOWDEN MILESTONE WATCH: Senior Nancy Bowden currently sits eight assists shy of Barb Skinner's 509 assists for third on Butler's career list. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native is also fourth on Butler's career steals list. Bowden has 282 steals in her three-plus years at Butler, 20 short of Skinner's 302. Bowden is also fourth in career free throw attempts (475) and minutes played (3,268). Bowden is now 38 points shy of 1,000 for her career with at least four games remaining in her career.

DEEP THREATS: The Bulldogs' recent offensive explosion is due in large part to their aggressiveness in taking the outside shot. Butler has attempted 77 treys over the past three games, nailing 30 of them. Freshman Ellen Hamilton is hitting 38 percent of her threes, while sophomores Jessica Monaco (.408) and Maria Marchesano (.393) have stretched the "D."