The Butler women remained in line for a chance at a conference championship with an 81-65 victory over Cowley Wednesday night in the regular-season home finale.
The win moved the Grizzlies (21-8 overall, 14-5 conference) into a first-place tie with Coffeyville, setting up a showdown between the two teams for the Jayhawk East title in Saturday's regular-season finale. A win would not only earn Butler the outright conference title, but secure a first-round bye in the Region VI playoffs.
Tamara Nard led Butler with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting and had nine rebounds, while Dana Johnson made 6-of-6 shots and finished with 12 points and six rebounds. Jaelynn McLaurian added 11 points and nine rebounds as the Grizzlies recorded their fifth win in six contests.
After giving up 109 points in a loss just three weeks ago in Arkansas City, Butler exacted revenge over the Tigers. The Grizzly defense turned up the heat by limiting Cowley to just 26.9 percent (18-of-67) shooting, which was a vast difference from the Jan. 29 meeting where the Tigers shot 42 percent from both the field (33-of-78) and 3-point range (17-of-41).
Butler also dominated the glass in the victory, pulling down 54 boards to Cowley's 21. The Grizzlies had 16 offensive rebounds, which led to 19 second-chance points. Camille Downs led Butler with 11 rebounds in addition with eight points.
"We didn't make a coaching adjustment," said Butler head coach Mike Helmer. "The players made an adjustment by following the game plan better. They were great at following what we asked in the second half."
Behind a key 25-4 second-half run over an 8:23 span, Butler turned a 37-32 halftime lead into a 27-point blowout with just 4:43 remaining in the contest.
The Grizzlies took command early after the halftime break, opening the third quarter with a 6-1 run to stretch their lead to 10 points. Both Nard and RaVon Nero hit two free throws, then after Cowley made 1-of-2 foul shots, Maddy Willis-Rosa scored on a putback.
Butler's lead advanced to 13 on a quick 6-0 midway through the quarter, as Nero hit a jumper inside the arc, then Camille Downs stole the ball and drove for a fast-break layup. After a Butler timeout, Downs assisted on a Johnson layup in transition for a 51-38 lead with 4:37 remaining in the third.
Cowley answered with a 7-0 run, getting 3-pointers from Milena Fromming and Torri Vang which sliced Butler's lead to 51-45, but the Grizzlies responded with the start of their 25-4 run – scoring 12 consecutive points finish out the third quarter.
Butler beat the Cowley press for an open Johnson layup to start the 12-0 run, then Downs added a long-range jumper. Nero and McLaurian each made two foul shots, then both Nard and Johnson followed with baskets for a 63-45 lead. Cowley snapped the run with 1-of-2 free throws just before the quarter ended.
In the final quarter, Butler opened with a 13-3 run as Cowley made just one field goal in the opening 5:39. Three straight steals by Nero, Willis-Rosa and Downs all scored on fast-break layups to open the run. When Carissa Beck drained an open 3-pointer from the far corner to cap the run, Butler had built a 76-49 advantage with 4:43 to play.
"I thought we played great defense all night until the last three minutes," Helmer said. "I'm very proud of them and they earned that win with defense and rebounding."
Butler shot 44 percent (29-of-66) from the field despite turning the ball over 32 times.
Butler will head to Coffeyville for a 5:00 p.m. contest Saturday. The Grizzlies edged the Red Ravens in the Feb. 1 meeting in El Dorado by a 61-59 score, as Downs scored a game-winning layup at the buzzer to edge Coffeyville.
