Butler suffers close loss at Garden City, 49-48

GARDEN CITY, Kan. – The Butler women suffered a second heartbreaking loss to Garden City this season, falling 49-48 on the road on Saturday.

The Grizzlies, who saw a seven-point lead evaporate late in a 57-53 overtime loss at home to the Broncbusters in January, had a chance to win that game in regulation by making a free throw in the final seconds.

Faced with the same situation on Saturday, Butler again missed a pair of free throws, sealing the win for Garden City.

The Grizzlies led early, 8-4, but trailed most of the first half and were down by two at the half, 26-24. Butler would regain a lead in the second half, leading 39-37 with less than 10 minutes to play and still led after an Imari Lyons layup with 3:32 to play. Butler would not score again, however and Garden City needed just one basket to provide the winning points.

Jamillah Bonner had another double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Tysia Manuel and Imari Lyons had six points apiece for Butler. Tamara Jones, who had the game-winning basket for Garden City, had 17 points to lead the Broncbusters.

Butler is now 14-9 on the season, 3-6 in Jayhawk West Conference play. The next game up is a home game against conference leader Hutchinson, which is undefeated and ranked No. 2 in the nation.