Angel Mason, who had 18 points and 9 rebounds, blocked a three-point attempt on Sophie Tirtiaux in the final seconds of Butlers 59-57 win over Illinois State in womens basketball at Redbird Arena Monday night.
Lisa Pryor added 12 points for Butler, now 1-1. For the Redbirds, 0-2, Zora Skrabalova posted 12 points while Jaci McCormack had 11.
With the score tied at 55-all with four minutes to play, the game was scoreless until the two-minute mark when a layup by Mason gave Butler the lead but Skrabalova responded for Illinois State with her own layup and the score was still tied, 57-57.
Down to the final minute and 35 seconds, Cortney Urquhart hit a jumper off a dish from Nancy Bowden before a Redbird turnover gave Butler a chance to put the game away. But Urquhart missed two free throws with 15 seconds left to give the Redbirds their final chance.
Urquharts six points and eight rebounds helped Butler jump to a 25-17 lead in the first 12 minutes. But Urquhart went to the bench with her second foul with 6:48 left and Sophie Tirtiauxs free throw started the Redbirds on a 16-point run leading to a 35-27 halftime lead.
Redbird coach Jenny Yopp applauded Illinois States defensive effort during that stretch.
Our defense got our offense going, said Yopp. They chipped away and once it got close, our team got tight. Thats part of changing losing to winning, dealing with those situations.
Sophomore forward Michelle Harakas agreed, but thought her team didnt continue what got it the lead.
We got defensive stops and our offense came out of it, said Harakas. We just didnt sustain that in the second half.
Butler coach Beth Couture thought Mason was the key.
We took advantage of Angels quickness, said Couture. We were short in the post tonight, but Angel made up for it.
Butler was 0-8 from the field with eight turnovers in the final eight minutes of the first half. Meanwhile, the Redbirds got five points from Sharon Blade, four each from Tirtiaux and Donovan and a three-point basket by McCormack during that late first-half run.
The Redbirds kept Butler scoreless until 14:47 of the second half after the Bulldogs were dry from the field in the final minutes of the first half. An 18-2 run by ISU contributed to the score at the beginning of the second half, 42-27, but the lead dwindled for Illinois State until a tie ensued with 8:24 to play.
The Redbirds play game two of a three-game home stand at 7:05 p.m. Friday vs. IUPUI in Redbird Arena.
--30 --
