No. 11 Butler Picks Up Road Win Over Cloud County
CONCORDIA, Kan. – The No. 11 ranked Butler Grizzlies take care of Cloud County 83-54 on Wednesday night.
CONCORDIA, Kan. – No. 11 Butler dominated Cloud County on Wednesday night, rolling to an 83–54 road win.
The Grizzlies move to 16–1 overall and 10–1 in conference play, while Cloud County drops to 7–9 (3–8).
Butler controlled the opening quarter 21–11, but offensive struggles in the second allowed Cloud to hang around. The Grizzlies shot just 25 percent in the period and scored 12 points, taking a 33–18 lead into halftime.
The second half was a completely different story. Butler opened the third quarter on a 17–2 run, stretching the lead to 50–30 with 5:18 remaining. The Grizzlies poured in 31 points in the quarter, fueled by sophomore Destiny Smith, who knocked down three triples and scored 10 points off the bench in the frame.
Defensively, Butler slammed the door in the fourth. Cloud County managed only eight points, went 0-for-7 from deep, shot 4-for-16 overall, and committed six turnovers.
For the game, Butler shot 47 percent from the field and 8-for-20 from three. Smith led the way with 20 points on 6-of-14 shooting, including 5-of-11 from beyond the arc—her third 20-point performance in her last five outings. Four other Grizzlies scored in double-figures. Keegan Yarick had 14 points, three assists, and four steals. Ashley Singhateh and Aliyah Green each added 12 points, and Kenzie Galliart had an 11 point 12 rebound double-double.
Butler's defense was relentless all night, piling up 18 steals.
The Grizzlies have now won 16 straight against Cloud County, with the Thunderbirds' last victory in the series coming during the 2017–18 season.
Next up: Butler hits the road again Saturday to face the Colby Trojans (9–8, 6–5) at 1 p.m.
