ARKANSAS CITY, Kan. – No. 14-ranked Butler women's basketball came up short in the final seconds on Sunday afternoon, losing 71-69 to the Cowley Tigers at W.S. Scott Auditorium.
Butler (15-3, 9-3 KJCCC) lost its third game out of six since returning from winter break. They sit in third place in the KJCCC standings behind first place and undefeated Hutchinson (18-0, 12-0) and second place Dodge City (16-2, 10-2). Cowley (11-7, 5-7) bounced back from a loss to Cloud County with the win and have won four of their last five.
Butler trailed by as much as 17 at the 6:29 mark in the third quarter but kept fighting and whittled it down to just a four-point deficit by the end of the quarter. The fourth quarter saw Cowley push the lead up to 10 just two minutes into the quarter but Butler proceeded to go on a 12-1 run over the next 4:15 to claim their first lead of the game at 59-58 as Freddie Wallace put in a layup. The final four minutes were tightly contested with neither team taking more than a two-point lead.
Tiana Winn added a layup off an assist from Maycee James with 49 seconds remaining to tie the game at 69. Cowley's Zuzanna Komor made a layup on the next possession and the Tigers called timeout with 26 seconds to go and a 71-69 lead. Randi Harding had a wide-open look from three for Butler on the next possession but it hit off the back iron. The rebound was tipped around but Winn ultimately came down with it and Butler head coach Mike Helmer called timeout with 7.7 seconds to play. Butler turned the ball over on the inbounds pass out of the timeout which led to Cowley eventually putting the game away after two more turnovers.
Cowley knocked down seven threes in the first half on their way to a 10-point, 39-29 advantage at the break. The Grizzlies held them to just one made three in the second half which allowed them to fight back into the game.
Butler was plagued by poor free throw shooting in the game, shooting 12-22 (54.5%) from the line. Cowley shot 85% (17-20) from the charity stripe.
The Grizzlies were led by Dayuna Colvin who put up 18 points and three assists. 12 of her 18 came in the second half. Wallace totaled 16 points, three rebounds and three assists. J'unti Franklin knocked down four triples, scoring 16 off the bench to go with a team-high seven rebounds.
For Cowley, Anna Przyszlak was impressive with a 15-point, 13 rebound double-double. Komor scored a game-high 19 off the bench and Jaiden Smith finished with 14 points and five rebounds.
Butler returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 27th as Northwest Kansas Technical travels to the Power Plant for a 2 p.m. tip.
