Bulldogs Head to Cleveland for League Quarterfinals

March 2, 2004

THE TIP: Butler (13-14, 9-7 Horizon) travels to Cleveland Thursday to face off against the Vikings in one of four quarterfinal match-ups of the Horizon League tournament that will be hosted at four different sites. The teams finished the regular season with matching 9-7 league records and split their season series, but CSU gained the fourth seed and hosting rights thanks to a pair of victories over Loyola. The 7 p.m. tip will be broadcast live on www.butlersports.com.

AGAINST THE VIKINGS: Butler and Cleveland State meet for the 20th time Thursday, with the Bulldogs owning an 11-8 advantage, including a 70-63 win a week ago in Indianapolis. The Vikings have won six of the ten meetings in Cleveland, including an 80-61 decision Feb. 7. Butler and CSU have split the season series two years in a row. The teams first met Jan. 28, 1995.

NUMBER TO WATCH: In two games this season against CSU, the Bulldogs shot a ghastly .467 from the free throw line (28-60). In contrast, the Vikings hit 70 percent of their freebies versus Butler.

BULLDOG UPDATE: The Bulldogs enter the tournament as arguable the league's hottest team, winning five of their last six games. Butler defeated the Vikings Thursday in Indianapolis, avenging an earlier loss to CSU. Senior Nancy Bowden had a busy weekend, snatching a career-high eight steals against CSU while narrowly missing a triple-double and then posted her 1,000th point in Saturday's win. The Horizon League announced Monday that Bowden was selected to the "All-Horizon League" first team and "All-Defensive Team."

THREE TAKE LEAGUE HONORS: Senior Nancy Bowden earned first team "All-Horizon League" and "All-Defensive Team" honors in a poll of the league's coaches, media and SIDs. Freshman Ellen Hamilton was named to the "All-Newcomer Team," while senior Angel Mason joined Bowden on the "All-Defensive Team." Bowden was Butler's first postseason all-league performer since 1998-99.

TOURNAMENT TIME: Wright State beat visiting #9 Youngstown State Tuesday in the league's only first round game. The eighth-seeded Raiders now travel to Wisconsin to face top-seeded UW-Green Bay. #2 UW-Milwaukee hosts #7 UIC and #6 Loyola travels to #3 Detroit in addition to Butler's trip to Cleveland. The winners will meet in Milwaukee for the semifinals if the Panthers win Thursday.

BOWDEN HITS A GRAND: With a free throw in the final minute of the Bulldogs' 76-65 "Senior Day" win over Loyola, Nancy Bowden hit the 1,000-point plateau for her career. Her 20th point on the afternoon gave her an even grand. After the free throw, Bowden and the four other seniors on the floor left the court to a standing ovation.

SHOOTING SPREE: Sophomore Jessica Monaco finished the regular season ranked second in the league in three-point shooting (.410). Teammates Ellen Hamilton (5th-.378) and Jackie Closser (7th-.359) join Monaco among the league's leaders. Redshirt sophomore Maria Marchesano has hit 45 percent of her treys this season, but did not attempt enough to qualify for league honors.

BREAKING DOWN CSU: The Vikings stumbled to the finish line this season, losing their last five games (all against league foes). However, the team's 9-7 league finish still tied the Bulldogs for fourth with the Vikings holding the second tiebreaker after the teams split their regular season series. CSU won six of their eight home league games and are led by seniors Shannon Sword and Ashley Schrock, who combine for 32 points per game.

ONE WEEK AGO (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, while Angel Mason added 12 points and 10 rebounds.

FIRST TIME AROUND (CSU 80, BUTLER 61; FEB. 7, 2004, CLEVELAND): Butler couldn't overcome the combination of poor free throw shooting and the Vikings' Ashley Schrock, falling 80-61 in Cleveland. The Bulldogs shot 15-of-36 from the charity stripe and Schrock narrowly missed a triple-double, posting 24 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds. Senior Nancy Bowden led Butler with 14 points and five assists.

GIVE AND TAKE: Through the games of March 1, senior Nancy Bowden's 3.7 steals per contest are third in the NCAA, while her 6.5 assists per game are good for 14th nationally. She leads the Horizon League in assists, steals and assist/turnover ratio.

QUICK SHOTS: For the second time in coach Beth Couture's two years in Indianapolis, Butler has at least doubled its win total from the previous season...Redshirt sophomore Maria Marchesano has hit 12 of her last 20 three-point attempts (60 percent), spanning the last six games...Freshman Ellen Hamilton had her consecutive made free throw streak broken at 19 Saturday, going 2-of-3 on the afternoon. The streak stretched back to Butler's Jan. 10 game at UW-Green Bay. On the season, Hamilton has gone 23-of-25 for 92 percent...Butler has won five of its last six and eight of its last 11 (all league games) after starting the conference schedule 1-4.

BOWDEN STEALING THE SHOW: Senior Nancy Bowden has 298 steals in her three-plus years at Butler, four short of Barb Skinner's third-place mark of 302. Bowden is also third in minutes played (3,361) and assists (522). Bowden had a career-high eight thefts in Thursday's win over Cleveland State.

QUICK SHOTS, PART DEUX: With Saturday's win over Loyola, coach Beth Couture has now beaten every Horizon League opponent except UW-Green Bay at least once in her two years in Indianapolis. The Bulldogs own current winning streaks against all league opponents except the Phoenix and Detroit...Junior Cortney Urquhart is eight rebounds shy of 500 for her career...Junior Courtney Lickliter and Maria Marchesano were named to the Horizon League's 2003 Fall Academic Honor Roll.

LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARD: The Bulldogs are averaging 78 points per game over the team's last six games, with the Bulldogs owning a 5-1 record in those contests. Butler has hit 51 treys during that stretch, shooting nearly 40 percent (51-130) from behind the arc. Nancy Bowden (14.8), Cortney Urquhart (12.0) and Angel Mason (11.8) are all averaging double figures over the six-game span, with Jessica Monaco (9.8) just off the pace.

SENIOR SALUTE: Saturday's win over Loyola was the last regular season home game for Butler's six seniors. Nancy Bowden, Haley Dunkman, Dionne Goodwin, Angel Mason, Lisa Pryor and Tiffany Smith were honored before the game and all except Pryor (who dressed, but did not play due to a torn ACL suffered Dec. 9) started the contest. After Bowden hit a free throw with 53 seconds remaining for her 1,000th career point, the five seniors on the court left to a standing ovation.

WORTHLESS STAT OF THE DAY: The Bulldogs have won their last two opening round games of the league tournament; however, both came in the #8 vs. #9 game.

STARTING OUT: Beth Couture's all-senior starting lineup Saturday was the eighth different lineup that the coach has sent out for the tip...The starting five against UIC Feb. 12 was the second starting lineup this season that included players from five different states...Eleven players have started games this season, including senior Nancy Bowden, who has started all 27...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.