The Butler women took a lead with 4:40 to play against Cowley at home on Tuesday, but would score just two points the rest of the way, falling 69-57 to the Tigers.
Kyla Callins hit a jumper from the left baseline and Butler led 55-54. Cowley, however, would respond by scoring 12 straight points, taking a 66-55 lead. Callins would hit two free throws with 25 seconds remaining, but by that time, Butler had gone more than four minutes without scoring.
The loss is the third straight for the Grizzlies, who had won four straight to start the season and are now 4-3 on the year.
Butler fell behind Cowley 12-2 early on, but went on a 7-0 run to get back into the contest. Butler's Ericka Mattingly made a layup with 12 seconds left in the quarter to take a 16-15 lead, but Cowley's Kaitlyn Potter hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer and the Tigers led 18-16 after one quarter.
Butler closed the gap late in the first half, but trailed 31-29 at the break, partially due to making just 4-of-11 from the free throw line.
Cowley scored the first seven points of the third quarter to push the lead to 38-29 before Butler started chipping away. Awreona Ransom made 1-of-2 free throws with 2:06 left in the period to tie the game 41-41. Reagan Sanchez then grabbed an offensive rebound and scored with eight seconds left in the period to give Butler a 46-44 lead heading into the final quarter.
Butler's biggest lead came with 8:05 to play after Mattingly drained a 3-pointer to make it a 53-50 Butler advantage, but Cowley would outscore Butler 19-4 to finish the game.
Callins scored 19 to lead Butler while Ericka Mattingly had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Morgan Littlewood led Butler with a career-high 16 rebounds.
Butler (4-3 overall, 1-3 conference) will be on the road Saturday at Allen County for a 2:00 p.m. contest.