Raymond Hoare
Student Sports Media
The Butler Grizzlies women’s basketball team began their season in Sedalia, Missouri, on a two-day trip on Friday, Nov. 2 and Saturday, Nov. 3 participating in the McDonald’s Classic. Facing the number two ranked team in Division II, the Kirkwood (Iowa) Eagles, and the host team, State Fair Community College.
In the game against Kirkwood, Butler freshman forward Criste’on Waters had a lot of offensive rebounds scoring 16 points, helping Butler for the win, 45-30.
“We were pretty good defensively,” Head Coach Mike Helmer said of the performance of the first game. “We were real bad offensively… I don’t know if it was the long trip down or nerves of the first game… but I’m proud of our defense was good enough to grind through for the win.”
The next day Butler improved significantly on offense. Sophomore guard Taylor Birch was able to draw in a couple of charge fouls in the game.
“Helmer really pushes us to take the charges,” Birch said of the charges. “When we do that, it gets everyone hyped, [and] when you see someone sacrifice for the team, [it] makes you want to do better.”
Before the first half ended, sophomore forward Kyla Callins took a shot with four seconds, making the far away three, giving Butler an 18-point halftime lead.
As the second half started, Butler kept on drawing the charge fouls which remained a factor as Birch and Callins both stood their ground. Butler defeated the Roadrunners, 85-55.
“I think we got about 10 of them,” Helmer said. “To me, the charge is equivalent to a dunk [in men’s basketball]…it’s a momentum changer.”
The Grizzlies faced the Tabor Blue Jays JV team at home on Monday, Nov. 5. The Grizzlies went out to a quick start as their offense scored 30 points in the first quarter. The score leading into the half was 42-18. In the third quarter, the Blue Jays scored one point while the Grizzlies made 22 points. The fourth quarter was more Butler defense as it led Butler to a 72-27 win over Tabor JV, improving to 3-0 on the season.
“I thought we had moments of playing really well tonight,” Helmer said after the performance of the Grizzlies. “We got to learn to play 40 minutes of just going hard, and when we do that, you’re going to see something special.”
The Grizzlies took on Hesston on Thursday, Nov. 8, and traveled to Nebraska Friday, Nov. 9 and Saturday, Nov. 10 to take on both Iowa Central and Central Nebraska.