Bulldogs Wrap Up The Regular Season Against UWM

Feb. 28, 2003

Notes on UWM

* The Butler women's basketball team will conclude the regular season portion of its schedule on Saturday (Mar. 1) when the Bulldogs (5-21, 3-12 Horizon League) take on UW-Milwaukee at the Klotsche Center. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. EST. The Panthers (14-12), which have won six of their last seven games, are currently in a second-place tie in the league standings with a 10-5 record.

* Last season's Horizon League Player of the Year, Maria Viall is leading three UWM players in double-figure scoring with 17.5 points per game. Jessica Wilhite (12.7 ppg) and Kimberly Becker (10.4 ppg) are also averaging double figures in scoring. Viall, who ranks second in the league in rebounding (10.1 pg), leads the league in field goal percentage (.570) and blocked shots (1.8 pg).

* As a team, the Panthers rank among the league leaders in field goal percentage defense (.440), scoring defense (67.9 ppg), rebounding margin (+9.1 pg), blocked shots (3.35 pg) and field goal shooting (.449).

* Head coach Sandy Botham is in her seventh season at the helm of the Panther squad. She holds a 111-83 overall record at UW-Milwaukee.

History Lesson: Although the overall series record between Butler and UW-Milwaukee is tied at 9-all, the Panthers have won the past six meetings between the two schools, dating back to the 1999-00 season.

Last Time We Met...: Maria Viall scored 28 points and added 13 rebounds to lead UW-Milwaukee to a 70-62 victory over the Butler women's basketball team on Jan. 25 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. After Butler held a 33-28 halftime lead, the Panthers came out firing in the second half, outscoring the Bulldogs 15-2 to take a lead they would never relinquish. Lisa Pryor led the Bulldogs win scoring with 13 points. Nancy Bowden and Angel Mason each scored 12 points and Jessica Monaco added 11. Cortney Urquhart narrowly missed a double-double with eight points and 11 rebounds. In addition to Viall's 28 points, Nichole Drummond finished with 12 and Kimberly Becker added 11.

Last Time Out: The No. 22 UW-Green Bay women's basketball team used a 71.4 percent (10-14) performance from long range to claim an 80-48 victory over Butler on Thursday evening at the Phoenix Sports Center. The Phoenix were 29-of-50 (.580) on the game from the field, while holding the Bulldogs to just 39 percent, including a 26 percent (7-27) clip in the second half. Butler, which has lost three straight, drops to 5-21 overall and 3-12 in the Horizon League, while the Phoenix, which has clinched the league's regular-season title, improves to 23-3 and 14-1.

A Tale Of Two Halves: Butler seem to be able to hang with the nationally-ranked Phoenix for 20 minutes, but the final stanza in each of this season's games has been a different story. UW-Green Bay outscored Butler 35-8 in the schools' first meeting this year, and held a 36-18 edge in the final period in Thursday's battle.

Alone At The Top: Sophomore Angel Mason was the lone Butler player to score in double figures against the Phoenix, finishing with 10 points on the game, all of which came in the first half. Mason is averaging 10.8 points per game.

Turnover Trouble: The Phoenix outscored Butler 27-10 in points off of turnovers, after forcing 24 miscues on the game. Five players for Butler had three or more turnovers by the end of the game.

Now Boarding: For the third straight game, and only the seventh time all season, the Bulldogs outrebounded their counterparts. Butler held a 31-26 edge on the glass against the Phoenix, including a 12-4 advantage on the offensive boards.

It's All Good: Junior Dionne Goodwin made the most of her action off the bench against UW-Green Bay, scoring five points and pulling down a game-high nine rebounds.

Senior Sendoff: Prior to Saturday's game against Youngstown State, the Butler athletic department honored lone senior Colleen Munro-Leighton for her efforts on and off the court over the past four season. Munro-Leighton has started in seven games this season and is averaging 1.7 points and 1.4 rebounds while in action. The Louisville, Ky. native also excelled in the classroom, as she was named to the 2002 Horizon League Academic Honor Roll. As a chemistry major, Munro-Leighton, boasts a 3.92 GPA. and is planning on attending graduate school following graduation.

D, D, Defense: Detroit's 49-point output on Feb. 15 was the least amount scored by a Butler opponent since the Bulldogs' 87-43 win over UIC during the 1998-99 campaign. Detroit's 49 points is also well below Butler's opponents' average, as the Bulldogs have been allowing 73.2 points per game this season. Butler is 3-0 this season when holding opponents below 60 points.

Bad Shooting = Wins?: Despite shooting a season-worst 28.3 percent (17-60), the Bulldogs still managed to pull of the 57-49 win over Detroit. In fact, in only one of Butler's five wins this season have the Bulldogs shot better than 40 percent. Included on the list of victories where the Bulldogs struggled shooting was a 21-of-74 (.284) performance from the field against Cleveland State.

Moving On Up: Nancy Bowden's 173 assists ranks fourth on Butler's single season charts, and is just four behind Melissa Kilgore (1986-87), who stands in third place. The 5-2 floor leader's 329 career dishes also ranks sixth all-time. Bowden's 81 steals this season also places her in the Top Ten in both single season and career (188).

Showing Improvement: Butler's win over Detroit nearly doubles the team's win total from last season, as the Bulldogs boosted their record to five overall wins and three victories in league action. 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 and Nancy Bowden have each recorded three double-double outings on the season.

Line 'Em Up: Sophomore Cortney Urquhart is the lone Butler player to have started in all 26 games this season. Nancy Bowden has started in 25 of the team's affairs, while no other player has appeared in the starting lineup more than 21 times. Head coach Beth Couture has used eleven different starting lineups throughout the season.

Doing The Time: There is no rest for the weary as point guard Nancy Bowden has already compiled 965 minutes (which ranks 4th in a single season) in her 26 games played for an average of 37.1 minutes per outing. Bowden has played 40+ minutes in ten 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 6.7 assists per game, more than one assist better than the player ranked second. Bowden also ranks first in steals per game (3.21) and ranks second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.71). Her solid numbers have also put her in the national spotlight, as she ranks 12th among Division 1 players in assists and 25th in steals.

Doubling Over: Eight different players have recorded double-figure scoring outings for the Bulldogs. Cortney Urquhart leads the way with 18 double-figure scoring outings, followed by Nancy Bowden (16), Angel Mason (15), Lisa Pryor (14), Jessica Monaco (6), Tiffany Smith (4), Stephanie Boeke (4) and Dionne Goodwin (1).

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 four players are averaging 9.7 points or more. Cortney Urquhart is leading the team with 11.2 points per game, followed by Angel Mason (10.8 ppg), Nancy Bowden (10.3 ppg) and Lisa Pryor (9.7 ppg).

Injury Prone: For the second consecutive year, the Bulldogs have again been plagued by numerous injuries. Sophomore guard/forward Maria Marchesano has missed 24 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 24 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.

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 return to Wisconsin next week for the Horizon League Championships, hosted by UW-Green Bay (Mar. 5-9). The Bulldogs will play in the tournament's playin game on Mar. 5 against Youngstown State. Butler, which was seeded ninth in last year's championships, defeated Wright State 74-61, before losing to top-seeded UW-Green Bay, 65-43, in the quarterfinals.