It might not have been the prettiest or best played basketball game by the Butler women's basketball team, but the Grizzlies did just enough to come out on top 56-50 against the No. 11 ranked Blue Dragons on Wednesday night in the Power Plant.
"It was ugly on both sides," said head coach Mike Helmer, "but our kids fought. The way they bounced back after that third quarter put us in a position to win the game and then we made plays at the end to get it done."
Both teams got off to a slow start with a 14-12 Butler lead after the first. The Grizzlies held the Blue Dragons scoreless for the first six minutes of the second half taking a 20-12 lead before Hutch finally got one to fall. A three-pointer at the buzzer by Kaylee Nero would give Butler a 27-19 lead heading into the break.
Hutchinson came out strong to start the third quarter and regained the lead 33-31 after a three-point shot fell for Kalyn Ervin. Hutch would stretch their lead to six points, 44-38 under two minutes left in the third, but the quarter would end with a Skyla Knight free throw to bring the Grizzlies within five with 10-minutes left.
Butler started the fourth with an 8-0 run with some big baskets from Paris Mullins to take back the lead, a lead they would hold throughout the rest of the game. Back to back shots from Mullins from 18ft and Beck hitting a wing three gave Butler a little cushion with a minute left. Cameren Downs made the play of the night with a defensive charge giving the Grizzlies the ball back with :25 seconds left leading by four. Butler held the Blue Dragons to just two points in the final 5:39 of the game and went on to hand Hutch their first loss of the season 56-50.
Both teams shot a low percentage from the floor all night with Butler edging the Blue Dragons 33% to 29% shooting. Hutch was 5-33 from three while the Grizzlies made 3-12. Both teams struggled taking care of the ball with a combined 47 turnovers between the two teams.
Skyla Knight was the only Grizzly to score in double figures finishing with a game high 20 points and seven rebounds. Knight got into foul trouble in the fourth forcing her to sit but the sophomore guard played 35 hard minutes in the win.
Kaylee Nero and Paris Mullins both scored seven points with Mullins pulling down six boards and Nero five.
NEXT UP: Butler will travel to Pratt on Saturday, February 6 to take on the Beavers at 5:30pm. They return home next Wednesday, February 10 versus Garden City at 5:30pm
NOTES: Butler has won three of the last five meetings with Hutch dating back to the 2018 season. This is the first time both the women and men have defeated Hutch in the same night since January 15, 2011 when the women won 55-51 and the men won 81-80.
