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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.—The Butler University women’s basketball team used 50.0 percent shooting in the first half to build a 15-point halftime lead, and the Bulldogs never looked back, as Butler posted a 77-41 victory over the visiting University of Evansville Purple Aces on Wednesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Butler worked inside early, scoring its first 12 points inside the paint on the way to an early 12-6 lead six minutes in. Senior Melanie Thornton and junior Chloe Hamilton each had six points to spur the early charge. Junior guard Brittany Bowen then got Butler’s long-distance attack going by hitting a pair of three-pointers, as Butler would quickly build a 25-14 lead with 7:50 to play.
The Bulldogs would eventually take a 35-20 lead into the halftime locker room on the strength of 24 points in the paint. The story would remain the same in the second half, as Butler shot an even 50.0 percent after halftime, including going 5-of-11 from three-point range to expand the lead to as large as 36 points on a lay-up by freshman guard Claire Freeman in the final minute of play.
“Quite simply, Butler came ready to play tonight and we did not,” said UE head coach Misty Murphy. “They were aggressive from the start and we seemed to be back on our heels all night long, and you can not play that way and be successful.
“This is just one game tonight, so we will move past this and go on. But, I hope that this team learned that you have to be ready to go from the opening tip every night.”
Bowen led all scorers with 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor, including a perfect 3-of-3 shooting from three-point range. For the night, Butler shot 8-for-19 (42.1 percent) from three-point range after entering the game shooting just 24.2 percent from beyond the arc in the first five games. The three-point shooting continued a recent trend for Butler against Evansville, as the Bulldogs have now shot 50 percent from three-point range against UE (64-of-127) over the last seven meetings.
Freshman guard Kaylan Martin paced Evansville with nine points. Sophomore forward Eva Benson also added eight points off of the bench, while junior forward Stephanie Bamberger chipped in seven points.
With the victory, Butler evens its record at 3-3. Evansville, meanwhile, slips to 0-6. The Purple Aces will now return home to host the Saint Louis University Billikens (3-3) at Roberts Stadium on Sunday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. Sunday’s game will feature the annual “Teddy Bear Drop” which benefits the children at Riley’s Children’s Hospital in Newburgh.
Fans who bring a new or gently-used teddy bear to Sunday’s game will receive free admission to the contest. The teddy bears will then be tagged and fans will have a chance to throw them onto the floor for a chance to win a prize. The teddy bears will then be collected and taken to the children at Riley’s Children’s Hospital to spread holiday cheer.
