Butler Women Shoot Over 60% In Defeating YSU Women, 88-69

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Butler shot a blistering 61.5 percent and nailed 14 3-pointers to win 88-69 and offset a solid offensive effort by the Youngstown State women’s basketball team on Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Youngstown State had its best road performance of the year on the offensive end, shooting 46.4 percent overall and 38.1 percent from 3-point range. YSU’s 26 field goals were also season high.

Brandi Brown led four Penguins in double figures, posting game highs with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Monica Touvelle scored a career-high 14 points while Tieara Jones had 12 and Kenya Middlebrooks added 10.

Alyssa Pittman hit six 3-pointers in the first half and finished with 18 points to lead Butler. Five other Bulldogs scored at least eight points.

Butler improved to 11-6 overall and remained undefeated in Horizon League play at 5-0. Youngstown State dropped to 3-14 overall and 1-5 in conference play.

Both teams found the net early and often in the first half as Butler shot 66.7 percent in the opening period while YSU shot 56 percent. The Penguins hit their first four attempts from 3-point range, and Touvelle’s second triple of the contest cut YSU’s deficit to 17-16 at the 11:55 mark.

YSU did not score for nearly five minutes, and Butler went on an 8-0 run to go up 25-16 with 9:04 remaining. Jones scored the next six points for YSU, which climbed back to within five twice over the next three minutes. Claire Freeman and Pittman hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to push Butler’s margin up to 11, but YSU did not let the game get away and remained in striking distance at halftime with the score 43-36.

Two free throws by Macey Nortey made the score 56-49 with 13:28 left in the second, but Butler’s Devin Brierly scored the next five points, and the Bulldogs led by double digits the rest of the way.

The game was still within 10 points after Bojana Dimitrov hit a free throw with 10:33 left, but Butler scored the next five points to back up by 15 at 67-52. The Bulldogs led by 19 at the 5:50 mark, and they closed out the contest by scoring the final five points to equal that margin.

Brown was 9-for-14 from the field and hit both of her attempts from 3-point range. Jones was 6-for-11 before fouling out with 5:51 remaining in the contest.

The Penguins will return home to play Wright State on Thursday at 5:15 p.m. The game will be the first half of a doubleheader with the YSU men’s basketball team.

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