Butler was only the team able to successfully defend its home court Saturday in Horizon League women’s basketball play as Detroit, Green Bay, Wright State and Youngstown State all picked up road victories.
Butler 67, Cleveland State 43
The Butler women's basketball team shook off a slow start to rout Cleveland State 67-43 Saturday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse. SophomoreSarah Hamm scored 14 points and senior Devin Brierly added 13 for the Bulldogs.
After falling behind 20-9 in the first 10 minutes of the game, Butler dismantled the visiting Vikings for its second win of the weekend. BU out-scored Cleveland State 58-23 during the game's final 30 minutes.
Brierly, who scored 19 in Thursday's win over Youngstown State, finished 5-for-9 shooting and made 3-for-5 from 3-point range. She also had four assists and two steals. Hamm shot 4-for-8 and pulled in five rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench.
Sophomore Jenna Cobb added 11 points, matching her career high which was set last year against Cleveland State.
Cleveland State's last lead of the game was 23-22 at the 5:50 mark in the first half. Butler finished the half with a 12-3 run to lead 34-26 and then turned the game into a rout. The Bulldogs had their first 20-point lead with 8:21 left in the game and continued to pour it on as Couture inserted her subs.
Couture said Cleveland State surprised Butler by subbing platoon-style, sending in five different players at a time.BU set season highs for 3-pointers made (8), 3-point shooting percentage (.471) and assists (19). The Bulldogs were +9 on the boards and held Cleveland State to 17 points in the second half.
CSU was led by Shalonda Winton with 20 points, seven rebounds and six steals. No other Viking made it to double figures.
Butler has one game next week, a Saturday contest at Valparaiso. The game at Valpo will start at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Detroit 76, Loyola 66
Freshman Shareta Brown dominated the inside with a game and season-high 31 points to lead five Titans in double figures as the Detroit women's basketball team held off Loyola, 76-66, on Saturday from Gentile Arena.
Brown's 31 is the most by a Horizon League player on the year to this point as she also posted 11 rebounds for her sixth double-double. Junior Yar Shayok tallied her 21st career double-double with 10 points and a season-high 15 rebounds, while sophomore Senee Shearer added 13.
Seniors Lauren Allen and Jalesa Jones each netted 10 apiece, with Allen grabbing a season-high seven boards and Jones collecting a game-high seven assists.
Detroit was ahead by 10, 49-39, with 13:40 left when the Titans had to fend off a pesky Loyola team as the Ramblers went on a 7-1 spurt in the next 1:20. Detroit extended it back to eight, but a pair of free throws from LU's Patrice King, who was 12-of-12 from the line and finished with 18 points, would cut the Titan advantage back to four, 56-52, with 9:03 remaining.
The Titans then put the game away with a 10-2 run over the next five minute to push its lead back to double digits, 66-54. UDM later led 68-56 when the home team had one more charge left in them pulling within six, 70-64 with 45 seconds remaining. The Titans though hit all six of their free throws down the stretch to close out the victory over their Jesuit rivals from the Windy City.
UDM shot 45.5% in the game and won the battle of the boards, 39-30. The Titans also forced 14 turnovers and held Loyola to 37.5% shooting, including just 4-of-14 from behind the arc.
Both teams combined for 51 free throws, with the Ramblers hitting 20-of-21 from the charity stripe and UDM connecting on 23-of-30, a season high for makes and the most since tallying 25 against LU at home last season.
The Ramblers scored the games first five points, but Detroit came right back with six straight of its own. Loyola then led 7-6 when the Titans took the lead for good on a 16-4 run. During that spurt, Shearer connected on two 3-pointers, while Allen and Brown each netted four apiece and Shayok controlling the glass with five caroms.
UDM was in front, 26-15, when Loyola trimmed the advantage down to four, 26-22, with 5:14 left in the half. Detroit ran its lead back to nine before taking a 33-27 lead into the locker room.
A 3-pointer by Shearer started the Titan offense in the second half as Detroit increased its lead to 11, 45-34, at the 15-minute mark.
The Titans will now open a three-game homestand with Milwaukee, nationally-ranked Green Bay and Wright State coming to the Motor City. The homestand begins with the Panthers on Thursday on Dick Vitale Court in Calihan Hall. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.
17/14 Green Bay 88, Milwaukee 53
Senior Julie Wojta dominated the first half en route to lead No. 17/14 Green Bay to an 88-53 win over in-state rival Milwaukee Saturday at the Klotsche Center in Milwaukee. Wojta grabbed a program and conference-record 12 steals in Green Bay’s 29th consecutive regular season win over a Horizon League opponent.
The game appeared to start as if it would be a back and forth battle throughout with six lead changes in the opening seven minutes. At the 14:03 mark, Milwaukee’s Angela Rodriguez drained a three to give the Panthers the 12-10 lead before Wojta answered with a jumper on the next possession to knot it 12-12.
Sarah Eichler scored two of her nine points at the 13-minute mark, giving the Phoenix the lead for good (14-12).
After Milwaukee’s Courtney Lindfors grabbed a defensive rebound at the 11:44 mark, Wojta took it right back out of the hands of Lindfors before capitalizing when Ritchie found her on the right wing for the three and the 17-12 advantage.
Wojta led Green Bay a 24-0 run with 15 points, including three from beyond the arc, seven steals and two assists in 12 minutes of play.
With 8:27 to play in the first half, Adrian Ritchie found Wojta for her third three of the contest to boost the Phoenix lead to 19 (31-12) before Ritchie added a three of her own after a Panther turnover.
Green Bay’s defense forced 10 turnovers while holding the Panthers scoreless for over six minutes of play until sinking a pair of free throws with 7:42 remaining in the first half.
With just under six minutes to play, Wojta had a career high nine steals before posting her seventh double double of the season with 10 steals and 17 points with 3:54 to play in the opening half. Green Bay went into the lockerroom with a commanding 47-21 lead as Wojta had 19 points, 11 steals and five assists in 19 minutes of play.
Wojta scored eight points in the first six minutes in the second half while grabbing her 12th steal of the game, setting a new Horizon League record. The NCAA single game record for steals is 14.
With the game in hand at the half, Bollant was able to play every player for at least 12 minutes with everyone scoring for the Phoenix with Wojta leading the way with 27. Jenny Gilbertson scored a career-high 12 points while going 4-for-6 from the field in 18 minutes of play. Lydia Bauer finished the game with 10 points after scoring eight in the first half, including two three pointers.
As a team, Green Bay dished out a season high 27 assists on 32 field goals while extending its regular season winning streak to 33 games. Its 59-percent shooting for the game was the second highest of the season for the Phoenix as it scored 36 points off Milwaukee’s 27 turnovers before finishing with a season-high 88 points in the win.
Lindfors led the Panthers with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Green Bay will continue Horizon League road play Thursday, Jan. 12 as it travels to Dayton, Ohio to battle Wright State at 6 p.m. The Phoenix wraps up its travels with a stop at Detroit Jan. 14. Milwaukee plays at Detroit on Jan. 12 and at Wright State on Jan. 14.
Wright State 62, UIC 60
Wright State muscled its way to a victory on Saturday afternoon as they tallied 42 points in the paint, edging the Flames, 62-60, inside the UIC Pavilion. The back-and-forth affair witnessed 13 lead changes and three ties.
The Raiders received the majority of their scoring from four players as Molly Fox (20), Kim Demmings (17), Shaunda Sandifer (12) and Kayla LaMotte (10) combined for 60 of the WSU’s 62 points.
UIC senior Jasmine Bailey led all players with 21 points and 13 rebounds, totaling her seventh double-double of the season. Senior Shamiea Green added 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while junior Taylor Foulks chipped in 10.
Bailey scored the game’s first bucket on a three-ball from the right wing just before Wright State rattled off the next five tallies, giving WSU the early 5-3 lead.
The Flames answered back with its own 5-0 spurt over the next two minutes and held a 7-5 advantage with 15:35 on the clock.
Wright State regained the edge on three consecutive baskets by Fox and LaMotte, but UIC captured it back on a Foulks three with 11:13 remaining in the half. The Flames went on to strengthen their lead over the next ten minutes, owning a 37-28 lead at halftime.
Bailey led all scorers at the break with 14 points and eight rebounds. WSU’s Fox paced her squad with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting at the half.
UIC enjoyed a 50 percent shooting clip in the first 20 minutes of play, going 6-of-12, while the Raiders posted a mere 4-of-18 (22.2%) from behind the arc.
Wright State cut the Flame’s lead down to 39-38 within the first four minutes of the second half, holding UIC scoreless until Bailey sank a pair of free throws at the 14:37 mark.
The Raiders took their first lead since the 11:13 mark of the first half on a layup by Sandifer, giving WSU the 42-41 edge with 13:53 left in the game. Wright State stretched that gap to 44-41 before the Flames went on a 10-2 run over the next three minutes on scores from four different players.
With just under five minutes remaining in the contest and Wright State holding a 54-53 lead, UIC’s Kiara Strickland forced up a contested shot in the lane that banked in, giving UIC the 55-54 edge. The Flames’ lead lasted only 56 seconds as Demmings drilled a jumper from the free throw line after two missed treys by UIC.
The Raiders held a 60-55 advantage with under one minute to play when Bailey swished a contested three, cutting the score to 60-58 with 39 seconds on the clock.
Demmings was fouled on the ensuing possession and sank 1-of-2 from the charity stripe, bringing the tally to 61-58. Green then marched down the floor and nailed a 20-footer with 23 seconds left in the game to bring UIC within one, 61-60.
On the inbound, Green fouled Demmings to stop the clock, sending the freshman back to the line and Green to the bench with five fouls. In repeat fashion, Demmings made the first and missed the second in which Strickland grabbed the board, dribbled down the court, and called a timeout.
After the pause, Foulks attempted a three that clanked off the rim and into the waiting arms of Demmings who was immediately fouled with just over two seconds on the clock. The freshman missed both free throws and Bailey corralled the rebound, launching a half-court shot that fell short.
Wright State faces the only other undefeated team in the Horizon League on Thursday night as the Raiders host Green Bay. UIC is action on Thursday night playing at Cleveland State.
Youngstown State 55, Valparaiso 48
Kenya Middlebrooks scored 13 second-half points, and the Youngstown State women's basketball team battled for a 55-48 victory at Valparaiso on Saturday afternoon at the Athletics-Recreation Center.
The Penguins led just 47-45 and had four seconds on the shot clock with 1:40 remaining when Brandi Brown hit a bucket in traffic from an inbounds pass. Valpo hit a free throw on its possession, and YSU went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final 1:09 to pull away.
Youngstown State improves to 8-6 overall, which is its best start since the 1999-200 season, and 2-1 in Horizon League play.
YSU trailed 20-17 at halftime, and the Guins needed a Middlebrooks bucket in the final five seconds to get to 17 points. They then scored 11 points in the first four minutes of the second half to go up 28-26, but they went on a scoring drought for nearly six minutes. Valpo scored 10 straight points in that stretch to go up 36-28 with 10:34 remaining.
The Crusaders still led by eight with 9:30 to go when Middlebrooks got hot. She hit a trey and a jumper on back-to-back possessions to close the gap to three, and she tied the score at 40 with another 3-pointer with just inside of eight minutes left. YSU's defense held Valpo without a field goal for more than seven minutes, and Middlebrooks' third triple of the half capped a seven-point run that gave the Penguins a 47-41 lead with 5:42 on the clock.
Valpo made 4-of-6 from the free throw line to cut the margin to two points with 1:40 left, and that's when Brown scored on the inbounds pass from Nortey to put YSU up 49-45. Laura Richards made 1-of-2 from the line after a steal to make the score 49-46, and Nortey was sent to the line with 1:09 left. The senior point guard hit both tosses on a one-and-one, and she made two more with 37.6 seconds left to put YSU ahead 53-46. Middlebrooks made two charity tosses with 13.5 ticks remaining, and Valpo got a lay-up with five seconds left for the final score.
Middlebrooks finished with a team-high 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting, including 4-of-9 beyond the arc. Brown ended up with nine points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the third straight game. YSU was 9-for-9 from the free-throw line and shot 36.5 percent for the game.
Valparaiso's Tabitha Gerardot led all scorers with 21 points, and Gina Lange added 13. Valpo was 18-for-26 from the free-throw line and shot 30 percent. The Crusaders made just 21.4 percent in the first half and was 0-for-13 from 3-point range for the game.
Both teams struggled offensively in the first half as Valpo built a 20-17 lead at halftime. Valpo had a field-goal drought for nearly nine minutes, and YSU went without a bucket for seven-and-a-half minutes. Despite going 6-for-28 from the field, Valpo was 8-for-12 from the free-throw line in the opening period.
Middlebrooks hit a triple on the opening possession of the game, but YSU didn't score again until a Tieara Jones lay-up with 12:06 left. Valpo was only able to go up 7-3 in that stretch, and YSU reclaimed a 15-14 lead on a Brown steal and lay-up with 4:41 remaining. Valpo scored the next six points to go ahead 20-15 in the final 30 seconds, but Middlebrooks closed the gap to three with a bucket with four seconds remaining.
Youngstown State returns home to host Loyola on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. Valparaiso is in action next at Butler on Saturday afternoon with tipoff scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET.
Tags: Butler - Women's Basketball · Detroit Mercy - Women's Basketball · Green Bay - Women's Basketball · Wright State - Women's Basketball · Youngstown State - Women's Basketball
