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Bulldogs Set to Meet Top-Seeded UW-Green Bay Sunday in League Semifinals
March 6, 2004 THE TIP: Butler (14-14) is set to meet top-seeded UW-Green Bay in the semifinals of the Horizon League tournament Sunday in Milwaukee. The Bulldogs advanced to the league's final four after knocking off No. 4 seed Cleveland State, 69-59, Thursday in Cleveland. Senior Nancy Bowden, who posted 14 points and 12 assists Thursday, leads the Bulldogs. The 2 p.m. (CST, 3 p.m. Indianapolis time) tip will be broadcast live on www.butlersports.com. AGAINST THE PHOENIX: Butler and UW-Green Bay meet for the 28th time Sunday, with the Phoenix owning a 20-7 advantage, including a 2-1 edge in neutral site contests. UW-Green Bay has won 14 straight meetings between the two teams, a streak that spans back to an 85-80 Butler win Jan. 9, 1999 in Hinkle Fieldhouse. The teams first met March 13, 1982.
NUMBER TO WATCH: The Bulldogs are winless in the four games they've been out-scored from the three-point line. Two of those losses came against UW-Green Bay, who held the Bulldogs to combined 6-of-32 (19 percent) three-point shooting in the two games. The Phoenix made 12 of 31 treys.
BULLDOG UPDATE: The Bulldogs enter Sunday's game on their first four-game winning streak in more than four years and have won six of their last seven. Butler's 14-14 record gives coach Beth Couture's team its first .500 record since two games into her tenure (Nov. 25, 2002). The Bulldogs' smallest players, 5-3 Nancy Bowden and 5-4 Jackie Closser, came up big for the visitors Thursday in Cleveland. The duo combined for 29 points for the Bulldogs, who haven't advanced this deep into the league tournament since a semifinal appearance in 1999. TOURNAMENT UPDATE: Freshman Jackie Closser scored 11 of the Bulldogs' last 14 points Thursday, leading fifth-seeded Butler to a 69-59 win at No. 4 Cleveland State. Closser's 17 points led the Bulldogs, while senior Nancy Bowden posted 14 points and 12 assists. Butler was the only road team to win its quarterfinal match-up, as UW-Green Bay, UW-Milwaukee and Detroit advanced. 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. BOWDEN HITS A GRAND: With a free throw in the final minute of the Bulldogs' 76-65 "Senior Day" win over Loyola Feb. 28, 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 44 percent of her treys this season, but did not attempt enough to qualify for league honors. BREAKING DOWN UW-GREEN BAY: The Phoenix (21-7) advanced to Sunday's semifinals with a tough 61-57 win over eighth-seeded Wright State Thursday in Green Bay. The league's regular season champions have won 15 of their last 17 games, finishing the regular season with a 13-3 league record. All-league performers Abby Scharlow and Nicole Soulis lead the Phoenix, combining for nearly 30 points and 12 rebounds a night. SECOND GO AT IT (UW-GREEN BAY 57, BUTLER 45; JAN. 10, GREEN BAY): The Phoenix out-scored visiting Butler, 39-22, in the second half en route to a 57-45 win. Freshman Nicole Soulis led the Phoenix with 19 points and nine rebounds. Butler's Angel Mason paced the Bulldogs with 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting, while the rest of her team shot 29 percent (10-35). Butler had a season-low seven bench points in the loss. FIRST TIME AROUND (UW-GREEN BAY 69, BUTLER 53; JAN. 3, INDIANAPOLIS): Butler couldn't stop UW-Green Bay's Nicole Soulis, who had career-highs of 25 points and 11 boards in the Phoenix's 69-53 win. The Phoenix rallied from a three-point halftime deficit and the loss of Natalie Yudt to a season-ending knee injury she suffered in the first half with 71 percent second-half shooting. Senior Nancy Bowden led the Bulldogs with 15 points and seven 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: Butler is 10-0 this season when shooting a higher field goal percentage than their opponent...Sunday's game matches the league's top two teams statistically in turnover margin and assist/turnover ratio...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 14 of her last 26 three-point attempts (54 percent), spanning the last seven games...Butler is out-scoring its opponents, 1810-1808, this season. BOWDEN STEALING THE SHOW: Senior Nancy Bowden has 301 steals in her three-plus years at Butler, one short of Barb Skinner's third-place mark of 302. Bowden is also third in minutes played (3,401) and assists (534). Bowden had a career-high eight thefts in the Bulldogs' win over Cleveland State Feb. 26. QUICK SHOTS, PART DEUX: Junior Cortney Urquhart is four rebounds shy of 500 for her career...Freshman Ashley Brenden tied a career-high with three blocks Thursday...Including Thursday's game, senior Nancy Bowden has played the entire game ten times this season. That total includes two overtime contests...Butler's three freshmen (Ashley Brenden, Jackie Closser and Ellen Hamilton) average 19.8 combined points in Butler wins, compared to 13.4 points in the team's setbacks. LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARD: The Bulldogs are averaging 76 points per game over the team's last seven outings, with the Bulldogs owning a 6-1 record in those contests. Butler has hit 58 treys during that stretch, shooting 38 percent (58-153) from behind the arc. The Bulldogs are 10-2 this season when they score at least 68 points. GHOSTS OF YEARS PAST: When the Bulldogs attempt to beat top-seeded UW-Green Bay Sunday, they will also be looking to break a few streaks. The Phoenix has beaten the Bulldogs 14 straight times, knocking Butler out of the last three Horizon League tournaments. The Bulldogs have lost five of six postseason match-ups between the schools. UW-Green Bay is the lone league team that coach Beth Couture has yet to beat in her two years at BU. NOTHING BUT NET: For the second time in her last four games, freshman Jackie Closser was perfect from the field Thursday against Cleveland State. Closser's game-high 17 points came on 5-of-5 shooting. The Alexandria, Ind., native went an unblemished 6-of-6, including four treys, Feb. 21 at UIC. Closser is shooting 44 percent from the field in Butler's 14 wins, while her production falls to a 28 percent clip in the team's losses. 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 are 2-0 this season in games following contests against Cleveland State, Butler's last opponent. Those earlier wins came against UIC (Feb. 12) and Loyola (Feb. 28). STARTING OUT: Beth Couture's all-senior starting lineup Feb. 28 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 28...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. |
