Jordan Griffit
Student Sports Media
The Grizzlies faced the Coffeyville Red Ravens for the final time Wednesday Feb. 22 in the Power Plant. For the women’s team, they were looking to extend their winning streak to three and more importantly, give Head Coach Mike Helmer his 200th win. And they did just that as they sought out a tough win at home 77-70.
With the win, Butler tied the Red Ravens in the Jayhawk Conference for third. The three point shot was just about the only way that Coffeyville could stay in the game. They got their fair share of threes, contested or not. They went 15-30 from three, led by freshman Lucy Burke and sophomore Desiree Nelson, But even all of those threes could not stop Helmer and Butler. Butler only shot 37 percent from the field, but they were able to score points in spurts as sophomore Dakota Vann finished the night with 21 points.
After the game, we asked Coach Helmer about how the 200th win felt, and he said that it was extremely sweet and that he appreciated all the work that the women had done for him and the program over the years.
Now the Butler men’s team came into the contest against Coffeyville, desperately needing a win as they had lost six straight before then. And a win is what they received by what really was not all that close of a game, winning of 90-71. It was a surprising performance for them because it looked like they had left that six game skid completely in the past. The scoring for the Grizzlies was well spread out with four players ending the game in double digits. Sophomores Ketarrious Bochum and Jonnathan Lindsey both had 19 points for what turned out to be a good night in the paint for them.
This was a must win and a great test toward the end of the season for Butler, and they passed with flying colors. They won the game by a wide margin though they still weren’t able to hit the three ball nearly as much earlier in the season, finishing only 23 percent on the night. But their rebounding numbers were off the charts as they totaled up 45 on the night. Those went along well with their 20 second chance points against the Red Ravens.
