The Butler women saw its 25-game home winning streak snapped with a 73-55 loss to No. 8 Hutchinson Saturday night at the Power Plant.
Butler (9-5 overall, 2-2 conference) led by as many as 10 points in the second quarter, but a key 22-4 Blue Dragon run in the third quarter swung the momentum to Hutchinson.
Camille Downs led the Grizzlies with 24 points and six rebounds, while Tamara Nard had 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting for Butler, who lost its first home contest since Jan. 20, 2017 (74-53, Seward County). The Grizzlies also had a 16-game home conference winning streak ended with Saturday's loss.
Turnovers hurt Butler throughout the contest, as the Grizzlies finished with 32 turnovers on the evening. Hutchinson (11-1 overall, 4-0 conference) took advantage by scoring 31 points off of Butler's mistakes.
Downs scored 14 of her 24 points in the opening quarter to help Butler to a 20-14 lead. With two 3-pointers by Downs and a pair of field goals by Nard, the Grizzlies took an early 10-6 lead near midway through the quarter.
Butler went without a field goal for the final 4:38 of the quarter, but Downs kept Butler in front by consistently getting to the foul line, where she made 7-of-10 foul shots. Hutchinson committed nine fouls in the quarter – including three by guard Makayla Vannett, the Blue Dragons' leading scorer.
The Grizzlies stretched its lead to 10 early in the second quarter when Hutch head coach John Ontjes was whistled for a technical foul with 8:17 remaining in the half. Butler's Zayda Perez hit 1-of-2 technical shots, then made a 3-pointer from the top of the key just 14 seconds later for a 26-16 Grizzly lead.
With Butler up 29-20 and 5:20 left before halftime, Hutchinson made a 10-1 run to tie the contest at the break. Hutch's Tor'e Alford and Abby Ogle hit treys to begin the run, while Ogle's field goal with 35 seconds left in the half knotted the contest up at 30-all.
Butler turned the ball over 14 times in the second quarter, which played a role in Hutch's comeback before the break.
Nard put Butler back in front by four with field goals on two occasions early in the third quarter, but Hutchinson would grab the lead with an 8-0 run – including consecutive 3-pointers from Lauryn Mapusua. With 7:08 left in the third, Mapusua's first trey put Hutch in front for the first time of the contest.
Field goals by Jaelynn McLaurian and Perez kept Butler within two with 5:15 remaining in the quarter, but the two baskets would be the only points the Grizzlies would score in a seven-minute span.
Three straight baskets by Kyra Paniora, Alford – who added a bonus foul shot on her basket – and Sasha Francis in a quick 30-second span had the Dragons up 47-38. Hutchinson would add 3-of-4 free throws and a Ogle basket to complete a 12-0 run for a 52-38 advantage, delivering a blow the Grizzlies could not overcome.
Hutchinson outscored Butler 21-14 in the final quarter, hitting 60 percent (6-of-10) from the field and making 8-of-13 from the foul line.
In the second half, Hutchinson made 51.8 percent (14-of-27) from the field, while Butler managed to make just 30 percent (8-of-26).
The Dragons had a balanced effort from Ogle, Vannett and Alford, as all three scored in double digits. Ogle had 16 points with six rebounds and five steals, while Alford scored 15 points, six rebounds and three assists. Vannett finished with 11 points on 3-of-5 3-point shooting.
Butler will finish out the first semester with a Wednesday road game in Goodland, as the Grizzlies take on Northwest Kansas Technical College at 6:30 p.m. The Mavericks (5-7 overall, 1-3 conference) won their first conference game Saturday by defeating Neosho County 84-49 on the road.
