Butler holds on at Colby to earn first conference win

The Butler women nearly saw a double-digit lead evaporate on the road Wednesday night at Colby, but were able to hold on to get their first conference victory of the season by a 53-50 score.

Butler led 28-23 at halftime, but Colby stormed out of the intermission to tie the game, 32-32. Chantee' Louis got Butler back on track by hitting one of two free throws to regain the lead and then moments later, Louis made a 3-point basket that made the score 36-32 in favor of the Grizzlies with 16:30 to play.

Butler would gradually increase the lead, pushing the advantage to double digits when Jamillah Bonner made a layup with six minutes to make it a 49-39 lead.

The Grizzlies, though, have had trouble holding on to late leads. Colby took advantage, going on an 11-2 run to get as close as one point with under a minute to play. Colby had chances to take the lead, but missed two shots from the floor as well as two free throws.

Butler was finally able to add two free throws by Destiny Whitehead with fives seconds to play to secure the win.

"We have to learn to win and maybe we did that tonight," coach Mike Helmer said. "Beating them here is tough, so I'm proud of our kids. We just have to learn to finish and not keep giving leads up. To hold them off tonight, we needed that."

Jamillah Bonner led Butler in scoring with 21 points, while Chantee' Louis had eight points and Destiny Whitehead had seven points. Butler won despite shooting just 21 percent (14-66) from the field. Butler did make 23 of 36 free throws.

Maria McAbee led Colby with 15 points and Cheyenne Eisenhour had 13.

Butler is now 12-6 on the season, 1-3 in conference play. The Grizzlies will return to El Dorado to take on Pratt at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday in the Power Plant.