Megan Moles
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The Butler women’s basketball team split their two home games last weekend, defeating Milwaukee but falling to Green Bay, the current Horizon League leader.
Butler (19-8, 12-4 HL) was led by senior Melanie Thornton in Thursday’s win against Milwaukee (10-17, 5-11 HL). Thornton had 18 points, 10 rebounds and four steals in the 59-41 win.
Thornton scored 12 points and went 8-of-14 from the floor in the first half. She also added two blocks and four steals, which sparked her team’s offense.
“I was really trying to concentrate on defense,” Thornton said. “Once you do that, offense tends to come more easily. Our defense was definitely the difference.”
Butler started slowly before building to a 32-15 halftime lead.
Junior Alyssa Pittman aided Thornton in the late first-half surge with 16 points on two three-pointers.
The Bulldogs continued their push and went up 45-23 in the second half after a layup by Thornton. The lead reached 29 points with 7:36 remaining, and Butler emptied its bench with five minutes left in the game.
Junior Brittany Bowen was the third highest Butler scorer with nine points. Junior Terra Burns also added seven points and six assists.
Butler’s defense held Milwaukee to 29.8 percent shooting, although Panther Sami Tucker did score 20 points.
This was Butler head coach Beth Couture’s 124th win in eight years, which ties the school record for wins in the women’s basketball program.
“It’s special,” Couture said. “I love being at Butler and it’s a tribute to all the great teams I’ve coached over the last eight years.
“But we’re looking ahead to try and earn more wins in the future.”
Butler went into Saturday’s game tied for first place with opponent Green Bay. The game was Senior Day, and three seniors were recognized prior to their final regular season home court appearance. Thornton was joined by fellow seniors Susan Lester and Amie Kabara.
Green Bay (24-3, 13-3) held off the Bulldogs 61-54. Thornton recorded her 10th double-double of the season, with 14 points and 11 rebounds. She also added four blocks and four steals.
Bowen contributed 10 points and five rebounds to the Bulldogs’ effort, but that was not enough to defeat Green Bay.
Junior Kayla Tetschlag had a game-high 20 points and 15 rebounds, and her teammate, sophomore Julie Wojta, added 17 points.
Butler was down 57-53 in the final minute when Burns made a free throw, which cut the lead to three with 53 seconds remaining. A defensive stop on the other end gave sophomore Devin Brierly an opportunity for a three-pointer, but she missed with 16 seconds on the clock.
Green Bay made four free throws to clinch their win.
Butler led throughout much of the first half before Green Bay went on a seven-point run to tie the game to 31 at halftime.
Neither team could build a lead of more than seven. The game saw six ties and 13 lead changes.
“I thought the effort and intensity was there,” Couture said. “But the end of the game came down to making plays. Green Bay made plays.”
The Bulldogs’ last two regular season games are at UIC Thursday at 8 p.m. and at Loyola 3 p.m. Sunday.
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