The Butler women's basketball team picked up their 20th win of the season and seventh straight Region VI Tournament win with a 70-44 routing of Garden City in the Power Plant Wednesday night.
"It felt great to get this win from the standpoint that we know how good Garden City is," said head coach Mike Helmer. "We executed our stuff really well and played a great final game in the Power Plant. I appreciate all the fans that came out not only last night but all season long to support this great group of players."
With the quarterfinal round win, Butler advances to their third straight Region VI Semifinal game and will face the Barton Cougars on Friday night at 6:00pm at Friends University in Wichita, KS with the winner advancing to the Region VI Championship game on Saturday night at 6:00pm.
Butler started the game with a two-point lead after Garden City did not have starters marked in the book prior to the game allowing Carissa Beck to get two freebies prior to the opening tip.
Paris Mullins hit three first quarter threes, one coming as the clock expired and Butler led by seven, 20-13 after the first quarter.
The Grizzlies were held to just two points in the first six minutes of the second quarter but had an answer scoring 15 points in the final four minutes capping off their run with a Riley Hett three-pointer at the buzzer giving the Grizzlies a 37-25 lead as the headed into the locker room.
A sluggish third quarter by both teams was overshadowed by a 20-8 fourth quarter show put on by the Grizzlies as they cruised to the 26-point victory over the Broncbusters.
Butler had their best shooting night from the three-point line as well as at the free throw line. The Grizzlies finished 7-12 from behind the arc, 58% and 15-17 from the charity stripe for 88%. Garden City made their first two three-pointers of the contest but went on to miss the next 22 from behind the arc finishing 2-24 on the night.
Paris Mullis had one of her best shooting nights hitting 3-4 from three, all in the first quarter finishing with a game high 14 points and five rebounds. Although the Grizzlies scored 70 points, Mullins was the lone Grizzly to score in double figures with everyone on the team scoring at least a bucket in the contest. Skyla Knight finished with nine points, four steals and three assists. Carissa Beck was 2-2 from behind the arc to finish with eight points; Beck has gone 9-12 in her last three games from deep. Tamara Nard added in eight points and four boards in her 14 minutes played. Riley Hett knocked down two threes scoring six points and Cymirah Williams finished with six points and six boards.
Butler held the Broncbusters to 28% shooting on the night, two percentage points below their NJCAA leading 30.1 points per game allowed. Garden City shot 8.3% from three as the Grizzlies defense were contesting shots and flying around the floor all night long.
With the win, Butler advances to the semifinal round of the Region VI Tournament and will play Barton, who defeated Coffeyville Wednesday night 80-71. The Grizzlies defeated the Cougars at home on February 17th winning 61-54. Skyla Knight had a game high 17 points in the last matchup with Barton during the regular season. A season ago, the Grizzlies defeated the Cougars in the Region VI Championship game 84-52 and outscored Barton 29-5 in the third quarter to put the game away winning their second straight Region VI championship.
NEXT GAME:
Friday, April 9, 2021
Vs Barton
6:00pm
Friends University, Wichita, KS
Get Tickets: www.kjccc.org/tickets