No. 15 Butler women blast Barton in second half of 63-43 win

No. 15 Butler women blast Barton in second half of 63-43 win

The Butler women blew past Barton in the second half to win 63-43 on Saturday afternoon at the Power Plant.

The Grizzlies, ranked 15th nationally, would trail by as many as seven in the first half, but finished the game by outscoring Barton 47-20 in the final 25 minutes. That included a 37-15 advantage in the second half.

Butler led 10-6 in the first quarter before Barton went on a 9-0 run to lead 15-10 after one period. The Cougars increased the lead to seven points, going up 23-16 after a 3-pointer by Keneisha Winfrey with 5:58 left in the half.

The Grizzlies would get back into the game late in the half, as Alex Keller hit a pair of 3-pointers and a pair of free throws to score Butler's last eight points before half. Barton led just 28-26 at the break.

Butler would get five points from Tamara Lee early in the second half, with a layup that tied the game and then a 3-pointer that put Butler up 31-28 with 7:53 left in the third quarter. Butler would not trail again.

The Grizzlies would go on a 12-0 run later in the half, with 10 straight points by Nakylia Carter. By that point, Butler led 52-34 with 7:38 to play.

Nakylia Carter and Tamara Lee each had 14 points to lead Butler while Kyeria Hannah added 11 to put the Grizzlies in double figures. Janee Arnold led Butler with eight rebounds. Keneisha Winfrey had 15 points off the bench to lead Barton.

Butler is now 11-2 overall and 1-1 in the Jayhawk Conference. The Grizzlies will be on the road on Wednesday to take on No. 13 Seward County, making up a game that was originally postponed from Monday due to weather.