EL DORADO, Kan. – The Butler women remained undefeated with a pair of double-digit home victories in the inagural 2015 SunGroup Basketball Classic over the weekend.
Butler blasted Tabor College JV 88-31 on Friday, then beat Southwestern Christian (TX) 65-44 on Saturday.
With the victories, Butler is now 6-0 on the season and has won each game by at least 21 points, with an average margin of victory of 36.8 points per game.
Butler 88, Tabor College JV 31
Butler's patented defense gave the Grizzlies a quick start, as the Grizzlies did not allow Tabor to make a field goal for the first 7:48 of the game. By that point, Butler had already built a 20-2 lead and would 23-5 after one period.
The Grizzlies clamped down in the second quarter, limiting Tabor to just two points. Butler went on a 21-0 run, capped by an Eledria Franklin 3-pointer with 2:40 left in the half. Tabor went more than nine minutes before scoring and went into the half trailing 47-7 after a Tamara Lee 3-pointer beat the buzzer.
Butler outscored Tabor 41-24 in the second half to cruise to the victory.
Freshman Kyeria Hannah was the only player to reach double figures with 17 points, but every other Butler player scored in the contest. Tamara Lee added nine points, while Alecia Gulledge, Cassie Pauls and Imari Bell had eight points each. Raven Prince led Butler with seven rebounds.
Butler shot 50 percent (34-for-68) from the floor and 42 percent (8-of-19) from 3-point range while holding Tabor to just 23 percent (11-of-48) - including six percent (1-of-16) on 3-pointers. The Grizzlies also scored 47 points off of Tabor turnovers and outrebounded the BlueJays 45-22.
Butler 65, Southwestern Christian (TX) 44
Butler built a 12-point lead in the opening quarter on the strength of a 9-0 run and eventually pulled away from the Rams on the second day of the SunGroup Classic.
The Grizzlies led 31-17 at halftime, as Butler used a 9-1 run midway through the quarter with layup buckets from Cassie Pauls, Kyeria Hannah and Tamara Lee.
Hannah scored three straight layups to open the second half as Butler started with an 8-0 run. Alex Keller's layup with 2:34 remaining in the third quarter extended the Grizzlies' lead to 20 points at 45-25.
Southwestern pulled back within 10 midway through the fourth quarter, but Butler closed out the contest with a 13-2 run for the victory. The Grizzlies hit 5-of-6 free throws in the final 4:32, while Imari Bell added six points - all on field goals.
The win marked the sixth straight game in which Butler has won by 20 or more points.
The friendly confines of the Power Plant has been a place of dominance for the Grizzlies in recent years. Butler currently has a home court winning streak against non-conference foes that now stands at 25 consecutive victories dating back to November 2011. The Grizzlies have also have won 94% (49-3) of the home games beginning at the start of the 2012-2013 season.
Butler gets a day off Sunday before traveling to Sedalia, Mo., on Monday to play No. 13 State Fair in a rematch of a 66-33 Grizzly win at home on Nov. 2. Butler returns home Tuesday to play Oklahoma Wesleyan JV at 5:30 p.m.
