On Tuesday night, the Lady Bears were wearing blue for their ‘Autism Awareness’ night, and they were hoping to send the Lady Bobcats of Drexel home feeling blue with disappointment. Drexel came into the Den with a 9-5 record, while Butler sat at 10-3 heading into the contest.
The Lady Bobcats got on the scoreboard first with a driving floater and opened the contest with an early 4-0 lead. Kiersten Dubray began the scoring for the Bears with a shot from distance, followed by a Carmichael fast-break bucket that gave the Bears their first lead at 5-4. Drexel immediately answered back, however, and each team traded baskets until Kiersten went to the free-throw line and sank 1 of 2 to spark an 11-0 Butler run. The Bears’ scoring was set up by their pressure defense, which created a flurry of Bobcats turnovers. At the end of the first, the Bears led 16-8.
Drexel again scored first in the second, this time outscoring the Bears 4-0 early in the period. But Kylee quickly went to work and converted an and-one basket on a put-back. Drexel continued to find driving lanes and swap scores with the Bears for a few moments. Kylee again ignited the Bears by finding the bottom of the net at the stripe. After Dubray’s free throw, Butler ratcheted back up their defensive pressure. The Bears’ takeaways led to easy points and forced Drexel to take a timeout, hoping to make some sort of adjustment. It didn’t work, however, as out of the timeout Kylee grabbed a steal and a score. Butler closed out the half well, with Kadyn knocking down a corner three to allow the Bears to carry a 30-19 advantage into the locker room.
Out of the intermission, Gabby hammered home her third three-pointer of the evening for the Bears. From there, Butler continued to dominate, outscoring Drexel 19-5 in the third quarter.
The final period went much like the first three — all Butler. With the game in hand, the Bears slowed the pace and worked on some half-court sets. The final score was 56-33 in favor of the Bears.
Gabby led all scorers with 18 points, 12 of which came from beyond the arc. Kadyn pitched in 11, while Kiersten finished with 10 on the evening.
After the girls’ big win, the boys were up next, looking for a clean sweep on the evening.
The Bobcats struck first with a diving layup off the hands of Nichols. A subsequent Bears turnover led to a missed layup from Nichols, but Barbarick was there to clean up the glass and give Drexel an early 4-0 lead. Chandler toed the line, where he went 2-for-2 to get the Bears in the book. After a spell of back-and-forth action, Braxton DeLozier ignited the Bears with some fancy footwork in the lane that led to a score and a 5-0 Butler spurt. Drexel reclaimed a narrow lead after an interior basket from Belt. Belt then went to the free-throw line after being fouled on a put-back attempt. He missed the second after burying the first, but Anderson was able to grab the board and finish. The Bobcats led 13-9 after eight minutes.
To start the second, the Bobcats secured a steal and a score before Carter tickled the twine with a close-range floater. Defensively, the Bears were able to get a few stops; however, they continued to give the ball back to the Bobcats, who began to gain momentum, claiming a 25-13 lead halfway through the second quarter. Lucas Davidson finally ended the Bears’ scoring drought with a strong post move. After the Bears got a stop and a chance to build some momentum, Coach Burch took a wise timeout. After the timeout, the Bears’ offensive troubles continued, as they gave the Bobcats four easy points off turnovers. On their final possession before the intermission, Carter knocked down a three for the Bears. Butler trailed 35-18 at the half.
Out of the locker room, the Bears forced a few stops and scored the first field goal with a streaking Jake Chandler layup. Chandler followed that basket with a pair of free throws after a Bobcats turnover. With the Bears showing signs of life, Martin entered the game and provided some instant offense. Carter stood confidently at the top of the key and nailed a triple to shrink the Drexel lead. But Nichols answered back with a straight-on three of his own. A shooting contest was seemingly underway, with Jesse Carter knocking down another deep ball that immediately forced a Drexel timeout. Nichols stepped up for another three out of the huddle, and after a few Butler turnovers, the Bobcats pushed their lead back to 20 going into the fourth, 50-30.
Jesse Carter opened the scoring in the final period with another three, but Drexel instantly answered with a pair of fast-break scores. Butler kept fighting, but every time the Bears looked as though they might gain momentum, the Bobcats responded with timely baskets. Carter continued to carry the Bears’ offense, sinking another three in the comeback effort, which Jake followed with another trip to the free-throw line. However, the deficit proved insurmountable despite the Bears’ never-give-up attitude, and Drexel prevailed with a final score of 63-47.
Nichols led all scorers with 28 points and was followed closely by Butler’s Jesse Carter, who finished with 22. Carter hit six three-pointers on the evening, while Chandler added 14 points for the Bears.
Photos by Erin Dubray
