Late Barton run dooms Butler on the road

GREAT BEND, Kan. – The Butler women led at Barton for most of the first 31 minutes of play, but a late run by the Cougars doomed the Grizzlies in a 60-53 loss Wednesday night in the Barton Gymnasium.

The Butler women led the majority of the first half. Barton would tie the game 14-14, but a Mia Wesley 3-pointer off the glass would kick start a 7-0 Butler run that put them ahead 21-14 with 5:20 left in the half.

Barton, however, would close the half on a 13-3 run, turning that deficit into a 27-24 lead at halftime.

Butler would go on a spurt of its own to start the second half, outscoring Barton 11-2 and taking a 35-29 lead after Tonya Elliott-Salas made two free throws with 15 minutes to play.

Butler still led 41-36 with nine minutes to play following a basket by Jamillah Bonner. Barton would score the next 14 points of the game to grab its biggest lead of the game at 50-41 and Butler would not recover.

Jamillah Bonner, who has scored in double figures in 24 straight games, again led the Grizzlies, this time with 14 points and seven rebounds. Tonya Elliott-Salas had one of her better outputs as a Grizzly with 11 points while April Miller added seven points. Barton had three players in double figures. Blair Bloomfield had 16 to lead the Cougars, while Raven Anderson and Netanya Jackson scored 13 apiece.

Next up for the Butler women is a home game Saturday against Colby, a team the Grizzlies defeated 53-50 on the road in January.