Purdue Fort Wayne
Butler
IPFW Drops Second Straight to Open Season
11/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 18, 2008
Fort Wayne, IN - Despite three players, Eva Ivanova, Chelsey Jackson, and Tina Moen, in double figure scoring, the IPFW Mastodons (0-2) still found themselves on the wrong end of a 72-56 scoreboard against the Bulldogs of Butler University (1-1).
Ivanova hit 5-of-13 shots to lead the squad with 13 points, while Jackson and Moen scored 12 and 10, respectively. Two players, Courtney Reed and Jordan Zuppe each scored a half dozen points for the next highest on the team. Moen came one rebound shy of a double-double by pulling down nine caroms, with Zuppe grabbing six in the losing effort. Moen and Ivanova each dished out two assists, with Jackson picking up a pair of steals and Moen a pair of blocked shots.
The IPFW defense was in full force to start the contest, as the `Dons held Butler to just two points through the first five and a half minutes of the game. Leading 4-2, Butler went on a 10-2 run to push ahead by six at 12-6, and would not trail again the rest of the way. The `Dons kept the deficit to single digits for the majority of the frame, until Butler capped a 6-0 run with a pair of Melanie Thornton free throws to lead by 11, 25-14. Five straight points on a Reed three-point basket and a Kayla Kovach lay-in cut the IPFW deficit to six at 25-19 heading into the locker room at halftime.
IPFW scored the first five points of the second half on a Moen three-point-play and a pair of Ivanova free throws to cut the deficit to just one at 25-24, before Butler gradually put its foot back on the gas pedal, using a 5-0 run capped by a Brittany Bowen three-point basket to lead once again by 11. IPFW answered with a 5-0 run of their own, capped by an Ivanova three-point play, before the Butler offense caught fire, out-scoring the `Dons 19-6 over the next five and a half minutes, increasing their lead to 19 at 61-42, after a Devin Brierly three-point basket. IPFW could only close to within a dozen with 47 seconds to play following an Anne Boese three-point basket, as Butler iced the game with free throws, as each of their last six point came at the charity stripe.
IPFW shot 32.1 percent (23-of-58) from the field, including hitting just 3-of-14 shots from long range, with Reed putting up two of those. Butler went 27-of-63 (42.9 percent) for the game from the field, but hit 5-of-15 from long range for a percentage of 33.3.
Butler had four players finish with double-figure points, including a game-high 18 by Lade Akande. Susasn Lester scored 14, while Thornton and Brierly scored 12 and 10, respectively, off of the bench. Thornton and Lester each had double-doubles with 13 and 11 rebounds, each, while Brierly dished out a game-high five assists. Candyce Brown led the team with two steals, as Akande and Thornton each had a blocked shot.
The `Dons next take to the road for their first trip of the 2008-09 season, as they travel south to Oxford, Ohio, where they will face off against defending Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament champion Miami (Ohio), with tip-off set for 12:00 PM.
~Dons~
