Defense fuels Butler women late in 81-60 win over Neosho

After giving up 80 points in Monday's loss at Garden City, defense was the main focal point for the Butler women during Wednesday's 81-60 win against Neosho County.

The message wasn't received early on, as Neosho had a 21-point opening quarter while Butler trailed for most of the first half. However, the Grizzlies delivered in the second half – holding Neosho to just 22 percent (8-of-37) from the field in the second half.

"(Defense) was all we talked about," said Butler head coach Mike Helmer. "I was really disappointed in the first quarter, but we came back… just the mental understanding of being on defense is mental toughness and we've got to get better at that."

RaVon Nero led Butler (16-6 overall, 9-3 conference) with 20 points and nine rebounds, while Tamara Nard added 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Camille Downs finished with 13 points along with eight rebounds as the Grizzlies had three players score in double figures.

The first half was a tight one, with six ties and nine lead changes. Neosho's perimeter shooting (8-of-17) played a key role in the opening quarter, as the Panthers hit five 3-pointers for a 21-18 lead.

Butler opened the second quarter with a quick 6-0 run behind two Nero baskets and a field goal in the paint from Maddie Livingston, but Neosho answered with two consecutive treys for a 27-24 lead.

Butler led 35-34 at the break, with the difference being a Nero 3-pointer in the final minute of the second quarter. Nero added another trey on the Grizzlies' opening possession of the second half for a 38-34 lead, then after Neosho tied the game with a 4-0 run, Butler clamped down on defense and broke the game open.

"We picked up the defense and started rebounding," said Helmer. "We were losing the rebound battle at halftime. Once we started that run, we got transition buckets and that was the difference."

Tied 38-all with 7:12 remaining in the third, Butler made a 13-0 run while holding Neosho without a field goal for a span of 4:32. Jelesa Gross and Jaelynn McLaurian started the Grizzly run with consecutive baskets, while Nard – who only scored two points in the first half – scored five points with a pair of baskets during the run.

"We knew that we needed to limit our turnovers and it would translate to our offense. Once we started defending, we started to get going and everyone started to follow along."

Butler continued its offensive run in the fourth quarter, stretching its lead to as many as 22 midway through the quarter following a 16-5 run. Downs, who made three 3-pointers in the final quarter, hit two treys during the run to help the Grizzlies build a 72-50 lead with 4:24 to play.

The Grizzlies outrebounded Neosho 42-33 and scored 26 points off of turnovers. Butler finished by shooting 44.0 percent (33-of-75) from the field, while the Panthers were limited to just 29 percent (20-of-69).

Butler will have a week off before returning to action Wednesday with a road contest at Cowley (15-6, 5-6), who have dropped three straight games. Tip-off from Arkansas City is at 5:30 p.m.