Butler uses big third quarter to defeat Lady Tigers 72-62

A cold shooting third quarter doomed the Cowley College women's basketball team in a 72-62 home loss against Butler Community College Saturday inside W.S. Scott Auditorium.

The loss was a tough one for Cowley as they got off to a good start, hitting 5-of-10 three-pointers in the opening quarter and led 19-9. The Lady Tigers would lead by as many as 13 points in the second quarter (26-13) before settling for a 36-31 halftime lead.

After shooting 46.4 percent from the floor and making 8-of-15 three-point attempts in the opening half, Cowley made just 1-of-14 shot attempts in the third quarter and was out-scored 19-6 as they fell behind 50-42 heading into the final quarter of play.

Cowley would close within 67-62 following a three-pointer by sophomore Baylee Fincher with 1:37 left to play, but the Lady Tigers would not score again as the Lady Grizzlies held on for the victory.

"We made some shots in that first half to keep us in the game, but Butler did a good job of changing defenses on us, and we did not handle it very well," Cowley head coach Todd Clark said.

Cowley is now 8-8 overall and 3-7 in the Jayhawk Conference. Butler improves to 12-3 overall and is third in the conference with a record of 7-3.

The Grizzlies' Jada Knight came off the bench to hit 6-of-7 shots, including going 5-of-6 from three-point range, to finish with a game-high 19 points. Butler out-rebounded Cowley 38-23, with Freddie Wallace finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Fincher went 5-of-11 from three-point range and led Cowley with 17 points, while Gracie Gilpin, Carson Dean, and Shamahra Henderson added 12 points apiece. Henderson added six assists, five rebounds, and three steals.

With her 17 points, Fincher moved past former Cowley great Emilie Gronas for sixth place on the Lady Tigers' all-time scoring list with 924 career points.

Cowley will remain home to face Cloud County Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. The T-Birds are 11-5 overall and 6-4 in the Jayhawk Conference and are led by Alize Ruiz, who averages 14 points and 12 rebounds per game.

"Cloud is playing as well as any team in the league," Clark said. "They have a bunch of sophomores, and coach (Brett) Erkenbrack's teams are always competitive. It seems our games against Cloud always come down to a few plays."

Box score:

Butler (72): J'unti Franklin 3-9 3-6 10, Jaila Harding 4-12 2-2 11, Freddie Wallace 3-11 4-6 10, Randi Harding 3-10 2-2 9, Maycee James 1-3 0-0 2, Jada Knight 6-7 2-2 19, Anna Eldridge 0-0 0-0 0, Jada Hopson 0-0 0-0 0, Dayuna Colvin 1-2 0-0 2, Kaylee Nero 2-5 0-0 4, Syncere Harrod 1-4 3-4 5. Totals: 24-63 16-22 72.

Cowley (62): Gracie Gilpin 4-13 0-0 12, Baylee Fincher 5-14 2-2 17, Carson Dean 3-12 4-4 12, Shamahra Henderson 5-7 2-2 12, Anna Przyszlak 0-2 0-0 0, Stasia Duque 0-1 0-0 0, Lorette Chene 1-5 2-4 5, Jana Radovanovic 1-1 0-0 2, N'dack Mbengue 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 20-57 10-12 62.

Three-pointers: Butler 8-26 (Knight 5-6, J. Harding 1-6, Franklin 1-5, R. Harding 1-5, Nero 0-2, James 0-1, Colvin 0-1), Cowley 12-34 (Fincher 5-11, Gilpin 4-10, Dean 2-6, Chene 1-3, Henderson 0-2, Duque 0-1, Mbengue 0-1). Rebounds: Butler 38 (Wallace 10), Cowley 23 Fincher, Henderson, Przyszlak 5). Assists: Butler 13 (R. Harding 4), Cowley 16 (Henderson 6). Turnovers: Butler 9, Cowley 9. Total fouls: Butler 15, Cowley 17. Fouled out: none. Technicals: none.