COLBY, Kan. – The Butler women have moved into sole possession of third place in the Jayhawk West after a 77-44 win at Colby on Wednesday at the Colby Community Building.
With the victory, Butler (13-4 overall) is now 3-1 in the conference, trailing only No. 2 Hutchinson and No. 8 Seward, both of which are 4-0. Colby now falls to 3-2 in conference play (10-8 overall).
The Grizzlies once again used a stifling defensive effort to get their first conference road win. Butler quickly jumped to a 16-6 lead and doubled up Colby for most of the first half. The Grizzlies led by 21 at the half after a pair of free throws by Kori Kamm with 1.6 seconds made it 38-17.
The Grizzlies then started the second half on an 11-2 run to push the lead to 49-19 after a two straight buckets by Kynadi Johnson. Colby would answer with a 9-0 run of its own to get back within 21 before Jurnee Reid scored four straight to stop the skid. That was as close as Colby would get the remainder of the game.
Ashley Gibson dominated inside as the second half wore on and finished with a game-high 25 points. It is her 10th game this season with 20 or more points and her third in four conference games. Kynadi Johnson scored 19 points and had seven rebounds.
Butler will return home for a 2 p.m. tipoff on Saturday against Pratt.
