Bulldogs Conclude Regular Season Saturday, Hosting Loyola

Feb. 28, 2004

THE TIP: Butler (12-14, 8-7 Horizon) concludes the regular season Saturday when the Bulldogs welcome the Ramblers of Loyola to Hinkle Fieldhouse. Butler has won four of their last five games and are looking for revenge against a Loyola team that took down the Bulldogs in overtime ten days ago. The 2 p.m. tip will be broadcast live on www.butlersports.com.

BULLDOG UPDATE: The Bulldogs come off a 70-63 win over Cleveland State Thursday, highlighted by double-double performances from seniors Nancy Bowden and Angel Mason. Thursday's results clinched the fifth seed in the upcoming league tournament regardless of Saturday's results. The team's 12th win Thursday doubled last year's win total, the second time in two years that Beth Couture's team has accomplished this feat.

AGAINST THE RAMBLERS: Butler and Loyola meet for the 44th time Saturday, with the Bulldogs owning a 27-16 advantage, including a commanding 17-3 edge in Indy. The Ramblers have won three straight contests between the two schools, including an 88-85 overtime win ten days ago in Chicago and a sweep of last season's regular season series. The teams first met Feb. 11, 1984.

BREAKING DOWN LOYOLA: The Ramblers (11-15, 6-9 Horizon) enter Saturday's game in a tie with UIC for sixth in the league. Loyola lost Thursday at Wright State after knocking off Butler and UW-Milwaukee last weekend in Chicago. The Ramblers have had trouble on the road, winning only one of their seven league contests away from the Gentile Center. Meskhenet Lands and reigning league "Player of the Week" Ciara Henderson led the Ramblers with 13.1 and 12.4 ppg, respectively, while head coach Mary Helen Walker is in her fifth season on the Loyola sidelines.

LAST TIME OUT (BUTLER 70, CSU 63; FEB. 26, 2004, INDIANAPOLIS): Senior Nancy Bowden had a career-high eight steals Thursday in Butler's 70-63 win over Cleveland State. The captain added 12 points and 12 assists, leaving the floor with 1:49 to play and her team leading 70-53 before CSU's reserves went on a late 10-0 run with the game out of reach. Junior Cortney Urquhart led the Bulldogs with 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor, while Angel Mason had her second consecutive double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

FIRST TIME AROUND (LOYOLA 88, BUTLER 85 (OT); 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, as the Ramblers knocked down 13 threes on the night.

QUICK SHOTS: 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)...Senior Nancy Bowden (27) and junior Cortney Urquhart (23) posted career highs in the first match-up against Loyola.

BRACKET SHAPING UP: Regardless of Saturday's results, the following seeds are locked in for next week's league tournament: 3) Detroit, 4) Cleveland State, 5) Butler, 8) Wright State, and 9) Youngstown State. A UW-Green Bay win against UIC Saturday gives the Phoenix the No. 1 seed, while UW-Milwaukee would secure the second seed. Loyola and UIC are tied for sixth, with Loyola holding the tiebreaker were both teams to win or both lose.

LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARD: The Bulldogs are averaging 78 ppg since Jessica Monaco entered the starting lineup five games ago. Butler is 4-1 in those contests, after posting 62.7 ppg in the team's first 21 outings. Sophomore Maria Marchesano has scored 29 points in just 37 minutes over the course of those five games, well above her 3.1 ppg average. Butler has hit at least eight treys in four of those five games, including a school-record 14 against UIC Feb. 12.

GIVE AND TAKE: Through the games of Feb. 23, senior Nancy Bowden's 3.6 steals per contest are fourth in the NCAA, while her 6.4 assists per game are good for 15th nationally. She leads the Horizon League in assists, steals and assist/turnover ratio.

SENIOR SALUTE: Saturday's game is the last regular season contest for Butler's six seniors--Nancy Bowden, Haley Dunkman, Dionne Goodwin, Angel Mason, Lisa Pryor and Tiffany Smith. The Class of 2004 will be honored prior to Saturday's tip against the Ramblers. Pryor, who has been out of action since the Dec. 9 win over Evansville with an ACL tear, has been cleared to participate in pregame warm-up activities Saturday.

BOWDEN CLOSING IN: Senior Nancy Bowden is closing in on a few milestones and Butler records. After picking up her 500th career assist at Loyola Feb. 19, she is now third on Butler's career assists list, passing Barb Skinner's mark of 509 Thursday. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native is also fourth on Butler's career steals list. Bowden has 296 steals in her three-plus years at Butler, six short of Skinner's 302. Bowden is also third in minutes played (3,333). Bowden is now 20 points shy of 1,000 for her career with at least two games remaining in a Butler uniform.

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 (76-203) from three-point range, while Brenden leads the team in blocks. Hamilton and Brenden have each started 18 of the team's 26 games. The Bulldogs are 3-1 this season when a freshman leads the team in scoring. Thursday's win over Cleveland State was the first win for the Bulldogs this season when one of the freshman didn't have at least eight points (Brenden led the three with six).

NUMBERS GAME: Butler is holding league opponents to .404 shooting this season, compared to non-league opponents, who shot .484 in the team's 11 non-conference games...In the team's 12 wins, the Bulldogs are forcing 6.3 more turnovers than they are committing. Butler's turnover margin is just +0.1 in their 14 losses. Butler has 144 steals in the wins (12.0 spg), nearly doubling their opponents (74).

NOW IT'S OFFICIAL: Now that she's hit the qualifying mark of averaging 1.0 treys per game, Jessica Monaco is listed as fourth in the league in three-point percentage (.414). The addition of Monaco bumped teammates Jackie Closser (.375-6th) and Ellen Hamilton (.374-7th) one spot. Maria Marchesano is shooting .441 from long range this year, but has not attempted enough treys to be listed among the league's leaders.

DEEP THREATS: The Bulldogs' recent offensive explosion is due in large part to their aggressiveness in taking the outside shot. Butler has attempted 108 treys over the past five games, nailing 44 of them (41 percent).

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 26...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.