COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa - The Butler women's basketball team went 2-0 on the road at the Iowa Western Classic this past weekend, beating Cloud County 87-77 on Friday and Iowa Western 78-55 Saturday.
Butler women 87, Cloud County 77
Against Cloud, Butler jumped out to a 13-4 lead to start the contest and maintained the advantage at halftime with a 39-33 lead. The Grizzlies would remain in the lead in the second half, until Cloud managed to take a 66-63 lead with 6:31 to play. Te'era Williams would answer back with a three-point play to tie the contest at 69-69 at the 4:30 mark.
With the game tied at 71-71 with 3:41 to play, Butler managed to hold off the T-Birds as the Grizzlies closed out the game with a 16-6 run.
Te'era Williams had a dominating performance for Butler, as she finished with 34 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Williams hit 8-of-15 from the field and made 18-of-19 from the foul line. Teanna Reid also pitched in with 19 points, while Ashley Gibson added 11. Free throws were key in the win for the Grizzlies, as they hit 32-of-38 (84 percent) for the game.
Butler women 78, Iowa Western 55
Iowa Western quickly grabbed a 14-2 lead just six minutes into Saturday's contest and cruised into halftime with a 33-23 lead. Butler would turn the tide on the Reivers in the second half, outscoring Iowa Western 55-22 to move to 6-1 on the season.
The Grizzlies used a 13-2 run in the second half to take their first lead, 42-41, with 13:21 remaining in the game. From that point, Butler outscored Iowa Western 36-15 to pull away for the victory.
Iowa Western did not have an answer for Te'era Williams, who finished with 33 points and 11 rebounds. Williams hit 12-of-17 from the field and added 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. Also scoring in double-figures was Shayla Williams (15 points, 7-of-11 from the field) and Teanna Reid (11 points, five assists).
Butler will next host Redlands (Okla.) on Monday at 5:30 p.m. and again play at home on Wednesday against Pratt at 5:30 p.m.