Butler drops second home game of season with loss to Independence

Suffering just its second home loss of the season, the Butler women fell back into a first-place tie in the Jayhawk East with a 68-60 home loss to Independence at the Power Plant on Monday.

Butler seemed to have no answer to Independence's dominating inside-outside game, as center Brittany Reeves had a double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds, while the Pirates' guard duo of Elizabeth Esan and Deairah Mays scored 16 and 15 points, respectively.

The Indy tandum combined for seven 3-pointers, with Mays hitting three straight for the Pirates during a key third-quarter momentum swing, as the Pirates outscored Butler 31-19 in the third to build a 55-45 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

"We just don't want to play defense," said Butler head coach Mike Helmer. "We gave up 30-some points in the third quarter. That's embarrassing."

The home loss dropped Butler (19-7 overall, 12-5 conference) back into a tie with Coffeyville (22-5, 12-5) for first place in the East standings, while Independence (14-9, 11-5) extended its winning streak to five games and pulled within a half-game out of first.

Monday's game was nearly an opposite feel from the first meeting between the two teams back on Jan. 18 in Independence, as Butler rallied from a 23-point first-half deficit and controlled the second half for a 69-61 road win. On Monday, it was the Pirates grabbing the second-half momentum from the Grizzlies.

Butler held a 26-24 lead at the break, but Independence gained control of the contest after a wild start to the third quarter. The two teams exchanged leads eight times in the opening 6:04 of the quarter before a barrage of 3-pointers by Mays started a Pirate run.

Trailing 34-33, Butler went back in front as Tamara Nard made consecutive field goals in a 24-second span for a Grizzly three-point lead with 5:24 remaining in the third. Mays then connected on the first of three straight treys for Independence. Butler kept pace after the first two Mays' 3-pointers, as Nard and Jaelynn McLaurian made field goals to keep the Grizzlies in front 41-40 at the 3:56 mark.

However, Mays' final three jumpstarted a 14-2 Pirate run, with Reeves scoring the final four points of the attack to put Indy up by 11 points at 54-43 heading into the final minute of the quarter.

Indy finished with a 61-percent shooting clip for the quarter, making 11-of-18 from the field and adding 5-of-9 (56 percent) from the 3-point stripe.

Butler cut Indy's lead down to five to open the final quarter, with Nard making the Grizzlies' first two baskets of the quarter, then Jelesa Gross added a 3-pointer following a Pirate field goal. Independence answered with a quick field goal from Mays and a Esan trey to stretch the lead back to 62-52 at the 6:29 mark.

Butler closed within six with 2:57 remaining, but a Grizzly kicked ball during Indy's next possession allowed the Pirates to kill 1:11 off the clock. The Pirates then held off Butler by making 4-of-6 foul shots in the final 1:19 to win the game.

The Grizzlies led for most of the first half, taking an early 14-6 lead during the first quarter. RaVon Nero and Camille Downs drained back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the quarter to begin a Butler 10-2 run, with Nero and Nard adding consecutive baskets to cap the run. Indy followed with a 3-pointer from Esan before the buzzer, then Esan made another trey to open the second quarter to get the Pirates within two.

Butler fell into an offensive lull during the second quarter, only making one field goal in the final 7:14 of the quarter. The Grizzlies still managed to hold onto a 22-18 lead with 3:05 before the break after a Zayda Perez field goal. Butler overcame an Indy 7-0 run as both Nero and Perez made two foul shots in the final 30 seconds to hand the Grizzlies a 26-24 edge heading into the locker room.

Nard led Butler with 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting, while Perez added 11 points and five assists. Camille Downs finished with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists.

"We just had to keep going to (Nard) because they weren't guarding her since (Reeves) was in foul trouble, but at the end of the day, we just didn't want to compete on the defensive end," said Helmer.

Independence finished the game by making 49 percent (24-of-49) from the field, while Butler hit just 35.9 percent (23-of-64). The Grizzlies were outrebounded on the glass 33-25.

Butler will attempt to get back on the winning track on Wednesday with a road game at Neosho County (10-14, 4-12). The Panthers have lost two straight after having a four-game winning streak snapped. Neosho fell 86-72 at Cowley on Saturday. Butler won the opening meeting 81-60 back on Jan. 22 in El Dorado. Tip-off from Chanute is at 5:30 p.m.