Butler women beat Pratt, advance to Region VI semis

PARK CITY, Kan. — The Butler women advanced to the Region VI semifinals behind a season-high 21 points from sophomore Kyla Callins as the Grizzlies defeated Pratt 49-40 Saturday at Hartman Arena.

Butler (26-4) will face No. 8 Hutchinson (30-2) in Monday's semifinals at 1:00 p.m. in Park City. The Grizzlies lost a 77-61 regular season road meeting back on Dec. 8 to the Blue Dragons, who finished runner-up in the Jayhawk West.

After trailing by as many as seven in the third quarter, Butler (26-4 overall) used a 17-0 to pull away for the victory. The Grizzlies held Pratt to one point in the fourth quarter, which tied the school record for least points in a quarter scored by an opponent (1, Tabor JV, Nov. 5, 2018). In the final quarter, the Beavers shot 0-for-10 from the field and missed all six 3-point attempts.

Kyla Callins, who led all scorers with 21 points and 12 rebounds, scored nine straight points to open the run - including three consecutive layups to get the Grizzlies within 39-38 heading to the final quarter.

Callins' 3-pointer with 9:03 remaining in the fourth quarter put Butler back in front 41-39. Neither team would score over the next four minutes until Criste'on Waters scored a layup on an Awreona Ransom assist.

Both teams started the contest sluggish offensively, as the Grizzlies received just two foul shots from Callins for a 2-1 lead until Pratt scored the first basket of the game with 3:38 left in the opening quarter. Pratt took a 7-2 lead before Butler made an 8-1 run over the final two minutes of the quarter for a 10-8 lead.

Butler then made a 9-0 run to begin the second quarter and took a double-digit lead when Jaelynn McLaurian grabbed an offensive rebound and put the ball back in the basket for a 19-8 lead with 6:27 left in the half. With 2:22 before the break, the Grizzlies took its largest lead of the game at 26-13 on a Callins' jumper. Butler held a 28-18 halftime advantage and held Pratt to just 19.2 percent (5-of-26) from the field in the opening half.

Pratt opened the third quarter with a 19-2 run, scoring 15 straight points during the stretch. Rachel Tippens' 3-pointer with 4:28 remaining in the quarter put the Beavers up 37-30. Callins finally snapped the 15-0 Beavers' run with a jumper just 30 seconds later. Pratt would lead 39-32 before Callins jumpstarted the Butler offense with three straight layups to end the quarter.

Callins had her sixth double-double of the season and has acheived the feat in five of the last 10 games. Waters finished with nine points, five rebounds and three blocks for Butler, who shot just 27.4 percent (17-of-62) from the field. Courtney Cleveland scored 17 points to lead Pratt, who ends the season at 20-11 overall.