Butler women end fall semester with 68-57 win over Cloud

The Butler women finished out the fall semester by handing Cloud County its second conference loss of the season with a 68-57 home victory Saturday night at the Power Plant.

Butler (7-5 overall, 4-5 conference) raced out to a 16-3 lead to open the contest and led by as many as 23 points midway through the second half.

Jalise Smallwood led the Grizzlies with 19 points and five rebounds, while Ericka Mattingly finished with 16 points, seven assists, five steals and five boards.

Mattingly led the Grizzlies' charge with seven of her 16 points during the 16-3 run. The sophomore guard hit consecutive baskets to give Butler an 8-0 lead, then later added a three-pointer.

Smallwood then helped Butler take a 41-22 lead into halftime as she scored nine points in the second quarter, where the Grizzlies connected on 8-of-11 shots.

Butler put together a 9-1 second-half run beginning near the end of the third quarter. Smallwood had a three-point play, while Kayna Simoneau ended the run with a three-pointer to give the Grizzlies a 62-39 lead.

Cloud (10-2 overall, 7-2 conference) outscored Butler 19-11 in the final quarter, but never could get the margin back under double digits.

Butler hit 47.1 percent (24-of-51) from the field while limiting Cloud to just 27.9 percent (19-of-68). The Grizzlies also dominated Cloud on the boards, winning the rebounding edge 43-25.

Deztinee Gooden and Simoneau each scored eight points, while Morgan Littlewood pulled down 10 boards and added four blocks. Cloud was led in scoring by Kelsi Mueller, who hit seven three-pointers and scored 21 of her game-high 26 points in the second half.

Butler will next be in action on Wednesday, Jan. 3 with a 6:00 p.m. road contest at Pratt. The Grizzlies' next home game will be on Saturday, Jan. 6 against Coffeyville.