Women squeak past Allen, Men thrash Tabor JV
Ethan Denton--Student Sports Media
Issue date: 12/8/09 Section: Sports
It was a successful evening for the Grizzly basketball teams on Monday, Nov. 30 as both squads got victories. In the opener, the Grizzly women's team benefited from balanced scoring to defeat a much improved Allen County team, 71-67. And the men's team finished off the night by whipping Tabor JV 87-57.
In the women's game, Butler got off to an impressive start on both sides of the ball, taking a 23-11 lead midway through the first half. But Allen County made a run of their own and thanks to a buzzer-beating three-pointer, tied the game at 32 all going into halftime. In the second half, both teams went back and forth with the lead. Allen's last lead came at 56-55 with eight minutes left before Butler's Jessica Egwuagu, Austin, Texas freshman, made a layup to key a run to push the Grizzly lead to seven. The Lady Red Devils from Iola refused to quit however, and they cut the lead to 69-67 on a three ball from leading scorer Breanna Shaw with seven seconds to go. The Lady Grizzlies were able to close it out though, on two free throws from Tiara Andrews, Wichita freshman, and Butler hung on for the four-point win. Andrews finished with ten points including nailing all four of her free throws.
"We were better tonight defensively, not very good offensively," Head Coach Mike Helmer said. "But we practiced for four straight days on nothing but defense. We will continue to take baby steps and get better, and I thought we got better tonight."
Abby Henning, Wichita freshman, led Butler with 14 points. Abby Fawcett, Wichita freshman, added 12 and recorded six steals. Egwuagu also scored 12 and pulled down seven rebounds. After the victory, Butler got back to .500 with a 6-6 record overall.
The Grizzly men's team left no doubt after the first six minutes versus the Bluejays from Tabor JV. They stormed out of the gates to take a 12-0 lead before Tabor even realized what had happened. Butler pushed the lead out to 23 points at 42-19 before the scrappy Bluejays went on a 9-0 run to trim the lead to 42-28 at halftime. But the Grizzlies got back on track and started the second half, outscoring Tabor 30-14 to take a 30 point lead. Both teams traded buckets the rest of the way and Butler cruised to an easy victory to improve their overall record to 9-2. Dushawn Brooks, Chicago sophomore, led four Grizzlies scoring in double figures with 20 points. The Grizzlies crashed the boards, out-rebounding the Bluejays 42-28, and shot 53 per cent overall.
"I was really happy with the first six minutes, holding them scoreless and sharing the ball offensively," Head Coach Mike Bargen said. "We talked about this being a glorified practice where we get some nerves out, and get back in the flow of the game."
In the women's game, Butler got off to an impressive start on both sides of the ball, taking a 23-11 lead midway through the first half. But Allen County made a run of their own and thanks to a buzzer-beating three-pointer, tied the game at 32 all going into halftime. In the second half, both teams went back and forth with the lead. Allen's last lead came at 56-55 with eight minutes left before Butler's Jessica Egwuagu, Austin, Texas freshman, made a layup to key a run to push the Grizzly lead to seven. The Lady Red Devils from Iola refused to quit however, and they cut the lead to 69-67 on a three ball from leading scorer Breanna Shaw with seven seconds to go. The Lady Grizzlies were able to close it out though, on two free throws from Tiara Andrews, Wichita freshman, and Butler hung on for the four-point win. Andrews finished with ten points including nailing all four of her free throws.
"We were better tonight defensively, not very good offensively," Head Coach Mike Helmer said. "But we practiced for four straight days on nothing but defense. We will continue to take baby steps and get better, and I thought we got better tonight."
Abby Henning, Wichita freshman, led Butler with 14 points. Abby Fawcett, Wichita freshman, added 12 and recorded six steals. Egwuagu also scored 12 and pulled down seven rebounds. After the victory, Butler got back to .500 with a 6-6 record overall.
The Grizzly men's team left no doubt after the first six minutes versus the Bluejays from Tabor JV. They stormed out of the gates to take a 12-0 lead before Tabor even realized what had happened. Butler pushed the lead out to 23 points at 42-19 before the scrappy Bluejays went on a 9-0 run to trim the lead to 42-28 at halftime. But the Grizzlies got back on track and started the second half, outscoring Tabor 30-14 to take a 30 point lead. Both teams traded buckets the rest of the way and Butler cruised to an easy victory to improve their overall record to 9-2. Dushawn Brooks, Chicago sophomore, led four Grizzlies scoring in double figures with 20 points. The Grizzlies crashed the boards, out-rebounding the Bluejays 42-28, and shot 53 per cent overall.
"I was really happy with the first six minutes, holding them scoreless and sharing the ball offensively," Head Coach Mike Bargen said. "We talked about this being a glorified practice where we get some nerves out, and get back in the flow of the game."
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