Feb. 22, 2006
Complete Notes in PDF Format
THE TIP: Butler returns to Hinkle Fieldhouse for a two-game homestand to conclude the 2005-06 regular season. The Bulldogs tip off the weekend Thursday against Cleveland State (4-22, 2-13 Horizon League). A win against the Vikings would leave the Bulldogs (13-12, 8-6) in the driver's seat for a league tournament quarterfinal home game. Free video of the 7 p.m. (EST) tip will be available live at www.butlersports.com.
THE SERIES: This is the 24th meeting between Cleveland State and the Bulldogs. Butler owns a 15-8 advantage in the all-time series, including an 8-2 edge in Indianapolis. Butler has won five straight meetings between the two teams, including a 71-68 decision in Cleveland Feb. 4. The series dates back to the 1994-95 season when the Vikings joined the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (now Horizon League).
`LADE' IN, DAY OUT: Freshman Lade Akande has become a model of consistency for the Bulldogs. The 6-1 post player has been in double figures in eight straight games and 17 of Butler's last 18 contests. After scoring a game-high 26 points Feb. 16 in Butler's win over Loyola, Akande put up 24 points Saturday against UIC. Akande shot 61 percent from the field combined in the two contests. She now has ten 20+ point performances in her freshman campaign.
TOP OF THE CHARTS: With her trio of three-pointers Feb. 16 at Loyola, junior Jackie Closser became the most prolific three-point shooter in Butler history, breaking Debbie Benziger's (1995-98) previous mark of 167. Closser now has 172 career bombs and still has more than a season remaining in her Butler career. Closser also broke her own single-season three-pointers mark (67 set last season), nailing her 70th trey of the season Saturday at UIC. Not just a shooter, Closser's 306 career assists are seventh on Butler's charts.
SHOOTING IT STRAIGHT: Junior Ellen Hamilton is knocking down a staggering 48 percent of her three-point attempts so far this season, which is good for the No. 6 spot in the NCAA standings. Due to the Horizon League requiring less made treys than the NCAA, Hamilton is third in the Horizon League (trailing teammate Cassie Freeman and Detroit's Katie Solner). Hamilton is third on the career treys list (162) and has 64 three-pointers already this season, the third-best total in Butler history.
DIALED IN: Butler leads the Horizon League and remains among the national leaders in long distance proficiency. The Bulldogs lead the Horizon League in three-point percentage (.390) and rank second in three-pointers per game (7.68), just one one-hundredth behind Detroit's mark of 7.69. Butler ranks seventh among the NCAA's 324 institutions in three-pointers made and 10th in trey percentage. Butler hit nine three-pointers Feb. 16 at Loyola, the 12th time this season hitting at least eight treys.
HORIZON LEAGUE BRACKETOLOGY: There are still scenarios where Butler could finish anywhere from the third through sixth seeds in the upcoming Horizon League Tournament. Two Butler wins this weekend or one Butler win coupled with a UIC win either Thursday or Saturday would guarantee a quarterfinal home game for the Bulldogs. Butler would be the odd team out in any three-team tiebreakers involving UIC and Detroit or four-team tiebreakers involving UIC, Detroit and Wright State.
BOMBS AWAY: Junior Jackie Closser continues to lead the Horizon League with an average of 2.92 three-pointers made per game. That's the 13th-best mark in the nation. Classmate Ellen Hamilton ranks second in the league (and 29th nationally) in treys made at 2.56 per game.
CLOSSER IS CLUTCH: Junior Jackie Closser hit all 12 of her free throw attempts Feb. 6 at Detroit, securing the come-from-behind win against the Titans. The 12 makes without a miss is tied for second on Butler's single-game records chart (one off the 13-13 performance of Shelley Roby, 2/20/88 vs. Evansville).
OFFENSIVE BEHAVIOR: Butler is scoring at a 69.9 point-per-game clip so far this season, the second-best mark in the Horizon League. The Bulldogs boast three of the top nine scorers in the Horizon League in Lade Akande (15.4), Jackie Closser (15.0) and Ellen Hamilton (13.4). The trio ranks 4-5-9 in the league standings.
Butler is 12-2 this season when scoring 70 points or more.
HELPING HAND: Junior Jackie Closser continues to lead the Horizon League in assists at 5.38 per game. Closser is 23rd in the NCAA in assists and hasn't had a game this season with more turnovers than assists. Closser also leads the circuit in assist/turnover ratio (1.93). The 5-5 guard handed out eight assists Feb. 16 at Loyola, one off her career-high.
LEAGUE LEADERS: Junior Jackie Closser is second in the Horizon League in free throw shooting (.847). Other Bulldogs appearing in the circuit's top five are freshman Lade Akande (second at 7.9 rebounds and third at 1.32 blocks per game), Cassie Freeman (second in three-point percentage at .491) and Ellen Hamilton (fourth in field goal percentage at .502).
QUICK SHOTS: A win Thursday would give Butler 14 wins overall and nine in conference, tying the respective season-highs for Butler under coach Beth Couture...freshman Candace Jones had a career-high seven rebounds Saturday at UIC...senior Jessica Smart played a career-high 13 minutes Saturday at UIC...junior Jackie Closser played all 40 minutes Saturday at UIC, the seventh time this season she's gone the distance...Ellen Hamilton (Jan. 16) joined Jackie Closser (Dec. 5) and Lade Akande (Dec. 26) in winning the Horizon League's Player of the Week honor. The only other season when three different Bulldogs earned the distinction was the 1996-97 season...former Indiana All-Star Tara Miller has transferred to Butler from Indiana University. The 5-10 guard began practice with the team Jan. 17 and will have three seasons of eligibility remaining, beginning after the first semester of the 2006-07 season.
WE'RE GOING STREAKING: Butler has hit at least one three-pointer in 149 straight games, dating back to Feb. 1, 2001...the Bulldogs have shot at least 70 percent from the free throw line in seven of their last nine games.
GIVE AND TAKE: Butler committed a season-low nine turnovers Feb. 16 at Loyola, while also forcing the Ramblers into 23 miscues, a season-high for a Butler opponent. The Bulldogs nearly had twice as many assists (17) as they did turnovers (nine). Butler improved to 3-1 when forcing at least 20 opponent turnovers and now stands 6-3 when handing out more assists than turnovers.
`FREE' REIGN: One game after matching her career-high with 12 points Feb. 11 against UW-Milwaukee, sophomore Cassie Freeman went out and shattered that mark Feb. 16 with 18 points against Loyola. Freeman posted career-highs of seven field goals and three treys, going 7-of-10 from the field and 3-of-3 from behind the arc. Freeman is averaging 9.1 points per game in the team's last 10 games.
BOEKE LOST FOR THE SEASON: Senior forward Stephanie Boeke will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee during Butler's game at Detroit Feb. 6. Boeke appeared in 98 games in her Butler career, including 22 contests this season. At the time of her injury, Boeke ranked in the top 10 among Horizon League players in six (rebounds, assists, blocked shots, assist/turnover ratio, offensive rebounding and defensive rebounding) of the league's 12 statistical categories.
NO. 300: Butler head coach Beth Couture hit the 300 milestone for career wins Jan. 18 with the Bulldogs' 85-72 triumph over Loyola at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The first 258 wins of Couture's career came at Presbyterian College.
WORTHLESS STAT OF THE DAY: Butler is 2-0 when facing Cleveland State in the second-to-last regular season game. Not so worthless is the fact that these two games took place in 2004 and 2005.
