The Butler women played their first game as a ranked team and did nothing to disappoint the pollsters in a 72-52 win over Barton on Wednesday at the Power Plant.

The Grizzlies, who came in at No. 8 when the new national rankings were released earlier in the day, started the game on a 10-0 run and never trailed in the contest.

After the hot start, the Grizzlies ended the half on a 9-2 run with a Katie Andersen lay-up just before halftime to give Butler its largest lead of the half, 37-19. Ashley Gibson led all scorers at the break with 14 points and had eight rebounds. The Grizzly defense stifled the Cougars as they just managed to shoot 19 percent from the floor.

The Cougars came out the second half with a 10-2 run, working the lead down to single digits early in the half. A 3-pointer by Teanna Reid put Butler back on a roll, then the Grizzlies extended their lead to 27 with another Reid trey with just under nine minutes remaining. The Grizzlies coasted the rest of the way for the win.

Ashley Gibson led Butler with 19 points and 16 rebounds. It is her second-straight double-double after going for 20 points and 11 rebounds on Monday against Tabor JV. Teanna Reid added 16 points and Te'era Williams finished with 13 points for the Grizzlies.

Butler is now 12-1 on the season with its next game Saturday on the road at Northern Oklahoma-Tonkawa at 5 p.m.