No. 16 Seward handles No. 19 Butler in ranked matchup

LIBERAL, Kan. - The Butler women fell 75-40 to Seward County in a matchup of nationally-ranked teams at the Green House on Wednesday.

Seward, ranked 16th, stifled No. 19 Butler defensively, avenging a 68-61 Butler win here last season.

Butler hit two early 3-pointers to take a 6-2 lead before Seward scored nine straight to take the lead. The Grizzlies trailed 15-9 after one quarter, but got another 3-pointer to start the second quarter and were down just 15-12.

Seward answered with 15 straight points before Butler's Cassie Pauls hit a 3-pointer that made it 30-15 with four minutes left in the first half.

Butler scored the first two points in the second half and would but the lead to 12 points before Seward went on another run to put the game away. The Saints led 53-29 after three quarters.

Butler shot just 25 percent from the floor, making 13-of-51 shots. The Grizzlies were just 4-of-20 from 3-point range for 20 percent. Butler was 9-of-14 from the free throw line for 56 percent. The 40 points are the fewest for Butler since a 55-39 home loss to Barton in January 2012.

Meanwhile, Seward shot 52 percent from the floor (31-of-59) including nine 3-pointers.

Tamara Lee led Butler with nine points and Janee Arnold added eight to lead Butler. Joanna Grymek, a 6-7 center from Poland, scored 21 points for Seward while 6-3 Axelle Bernard from Belgium had 20 points.

Butler falls to 11-3 on the season and is 1-2 in Jayhawk Conference play. The Grizzlies have one more game before the holiday break, tipping off at 1 p.m. at Colby on Sunday.