Bettencourt scores career high in lopsided win over Pratt

Bettencourt scores career high in lopsided win over Pratt

The Butler women rolled past Pratt for the second time this season, posting a 77-56 win behind a career-high 22 points from sophomore Carly Bettencourt.

Bettencourt, a sophomore transfer from Cal State-East Bay, easily eclipsed her previous career best, which had been 13 points in a non-conference home win over Neosho County on Nov. 27.

Butler also got 20 points from Jamillah Bonner, nine from Ashlee Ivy and eight from Shayla Williams in the win.

The Grizzlies were never challenged in the contest, jumping out to a 26-10 lead early on. Butler finished the first half on a 10-1 run and led 44-21 at the break.

In the second half, Butler would lead by as many as 32 points after a Carly Bettencourt basket made it 69-37 with 8:09 to play before Pratt trimmed the final margin to just 21 points.

Butler is now 21-6 on the season, giving head coach Mike Helmer his most wins in five years with the Grizzlies. His previous best win total was when the 2010-11 team went 20-12.

The Grizzlies are also 9-4 in Jayhawk West Conference play and will next travel to Cloud County on Wednesday.  The game is critical, as the two teams are tied for fourth in the conference standings. Butler could all but seal a first-round home playoff berth with a win, as the Grizzlies already have a 64-53 home win over Cloud in January.