Raegan Moore
(Girard, Pa./Girard
H.S.) came off the bench to score 15 points for Valparaiso
on Saturday night, but it was not enough as Butler
defeated the Crusaders 66-52 at the Athletics-Recreation
Center.
Moore scored 13 of her 15 points before intermission to
help keep Valpo close, but the Bulldogs shot 48.1% from the floor over the
final 20 minutes and used a 16-2 run early in the second half to earn the
Horizon League victory.
“Most of our games are being
decided within a margin of six to eight points,” head coach Keith Freeman
said. “We’re giving up too many points
with our mental approach to the game. If
we do the things that we are able to control, tonight could have been a much
tighter game.”
The Crusaders kept the game
close for most of the first half, tying the game at 19 with 6:10 to go before
the break on a lay-in by Sylwia
Zabielewicz (Warsaw, Poland/Generala Wladyslawa
H.S.). Butler scored the game’s next seven points
though, and eventually took a 30-25 lead into the locker room.
A Betsy Adams (Monticello,
Ind./Twin Lakes H.S.) bucket cut the deficit
to three to start the second half before Butler went on its big run, building a
46-29 lead with over the next four minutes.
An Adams
triple with 9:40 left brought Valpo within 11, 51-40, and the Crusaders three
straight possessions to cut the lead to single digits, but were not able to do
so.
The Bulldogs pushed the lead
back to 17, 63-46, with 2:54 to play on the way to the win.
Lauren Kenney
(Mooresville, Ind./Mooresville H.S.) was the only other
Crusader to tally double figures, scoring 10 points and grabbing a game-high
eight rebounds as Valpo shot just 31.3% from the floor for the game. The Crusaders were just 7-of-14 from the free
throw line as well.
Melanie Thornton led Butler (14-7, 7-3
Horizon), and all scorers with 17 points while pulling down nine rebounds. The Bulldogs shot 42.6% from the field on the
night.
Valparaiso (6-15, 3-7) will continue its three-game homestand on
Thursday evening, hosting Cleveland
State. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m. at the ARC.
Game Notes: Moore’s
15 points marked the first time as a collegian she’s had back-to-back double
figure scoring games … Valpo grabbed 14 offensive rebounds … Butler leads the
all-time series 18-5 and snapped a three-game Valpo winning streak at the ARC …
before the game Amber Schober (1998-2002) and Lynda (Kukla) Pinnow (1988-1992)
were inducted into the Valparaiso University Athletics Hall of Fame.