Charles Chaney
Sports Editor
The loss to rival Hutchinson always leaves a bad taste in your mouth. For women’s Head Coach Mike Helmer and the Butler women’s team, they used that bad taste to become one of the hottest teams in the Jayhawk Conference.
“We have to continue to do things the right way,” Helmer said. “If we do that, we’re going to be a tough out.”
Butler (12-6, 9-6 Jayhawk) rolled off six consecutive victories, including five over the winter break. They have done it an impressive fashion, beating opponents by an average 20 points per game. From an 83-48 win over Neosho County on Wednesday, Jan. 10 to a 54-50 win over a stingy Coffeyville team on Saturday, Jan. 6, this Butler team has figured things out.
A win over a Cloud County team that at the time only had one loss was impressive, especially with the help from Erika Mattingly adding 16 points. The way they dominated other teams really keeps the Jayhawk on notice.
“In my 10 years here, we’ve been top 10 in defense eight of the 10 years,” Helmer said. “Defense is who we are.”
Butler opened the spring semester slate with a 74-42 win over Pratt. Butler trailed 11-10 after the first quarter, but outscored the Beavers 47-20 in the second and third quarters to put the game away with Mattingly leading the way in scoring with 17.
The winning streak ended on Saturday, Jan. 20, with a 74-53 loss to the No. 13 Seward County Lady Saints. Then, they responded with a 64-46 win over Barton on Wednesday, Jan. 24 only allowing 14 Cougar points in the second half.
“That loss isn’t us and isn’t going to be us,” Helmer said. “I don’t want to take anything away from Seward. They’re great. We have a way to go but we’ll be much better.”
The Grizzlies get rematches with Independence and Cowley to get revenge on losses earlier in the season. Half of the final 10 games for Butler will be away from the Power Plant, which helps the Grizzlies who have won five of their seven away from home.
“I still think we have the best bench in the conference,” Helmer said.
For now, Butler is in fifth place in the Jayhawk Conference. They are in a three-way tie with Barton and Cloud County. Butler will get a head-to-head with both teams later in the season.
“We’re not going to let the foot off the gas now,” Helmer said. “We have to be locked in and ready to go.”