Tamara Nard and Camille Downs combine for 40 of the Grizzlies 88 points as Butler won their first game of the Region VI Tournament defeating Neosho County 88-53 on Saturday afternoon in Dodge City.
Butler held the Panthers to just 13-83 (15.7%) from the floor and 7-44 from behind the arc as they cruised to the 35-point victory.
"I thought we were really good in the second half defensively," commented head coach Mike Helmer. "They were locked in when they came out of the locker room in the second half and we followed the scouting report very well in the second half."
Neosho came out the gate hot connecting on 3 of 7 from three to take an early 12-11 lead at the media timeout with 4:51 left in the first. A free throw gave them a 13-11 lead with 3:38 to play but a Tamara Nard layup tied the game on the ensuing possession.
Maddie Livingston knocked down a jump shot giving Butler the lead back, a lead they wouldn't relinquish the remainder of the game.
The Grizzlies would piece together a 27-16 run to close out the half and carried a 42-29 lead into the break. Nard had 11 of her game high 22 points in the first half while Camille Downs added 10 points in the half giving the Grizzlies the double-digit lead.
Butler had their best defensive quarter in the third as they held Neosho to just 11 points, 12% shooting from the floor, while doubling them up on the other end scoring 22, giving the Grizzlies a 64-40 advantage.
"We really focused hard on not letting them take easy shots," mentioned Helmer in his post-game interview. "Our girls did a great job defensively and took them out of their game."
Missed shots in the fourth led to fast break points for the Grizzlies as Butler cruised to the quarterfinal win over the Panthers and advances to the semi-final round on Monday.
Tamara Nard led all scorers finishing with 22 points, her fifth consecutive 20+ point performance. She also had nine rebounds, three assists, three blocks and one steal in the contest. Camille Downs posted 17 points and eight rebounds while adding in four assists and four steals. Although just two Grizzlies scored in double figures, four players finished with eight in the game. RaVon Nero, Maddy Willis-Rosa, Carissa Beck and Dana Johnson all finished with eight points each. Johnson pulled down seven boards and had a block and Carissa Beck dished out four assists.
"Tamara and Camille were huge today," said Helmer, "but I have to give a lot of credit to the other ten players who helped make plays and get these two the ball. These two were monsters today but they couldn't have done it without the players around them today.
Butler outrebounded Neosho 61-57 and forced 18 Panther turnovers, which converted to 18-points for the Grizzlies. Butler's offense was flowing as they finished the game with a season high 19 assists.
"We are excited to move on and excited about every win," said Helmer. "We are going to appreciate this win and enjoy if for about an hour and then refocus. We will get them some food and then us coaches will get back to work getting ready for Monday. We will get ready for a practice tomorrow and we can't wait to cheer on the men when they play tomorrow night."
Butler (23-8, 15-1) will host the winner of Seward versus Colby on Monday, March 2 at 3:00pm in Dodge City, KS at the United Wireless Arena.
When asked about the new venue for the Region VI Tournament, Coach Helmer had this to say, "The venue is great. We don't care where we are playing as long as we are still playing. It could be on the moon, we are just happy to be playing."
