Women's Basketball | 1/15/2025 8:58:00 PM

Box Score The Cloud County Community College women's basketball team came up short on the road against Butler Community College, 62-57, on Wednesday, January 15 inside the Power Plant in El Dorado, Kansas.

With the loss, the T-Birds drop to 11-5 overall and 6-5 in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference play, while Butler snapped a two-game losing skid to improve to 12-4 on the year and 7-4 in conference play.

T-Birds sophomore guard TiAna Davis drilled a three-pointer on the team's opening possession of the contest, but then Cloud County went on a scoring drought that lasted nearly seven minutes. Butler led by as many as seven points in the opening frame after forcing Cloud County into five early turnovers. The T-Birds regrouped and ended the first quarter on a 9-2 run over the final 3:08 to tie the game at 12-all.

Both teams traded baskets to start the second quarter, with each struggling to gain any separation. Butler scored six straight points over a minute stretch midway through the period, giving the Grizzlies a 24-18 advantage with 4:40 to play in the first half. Davis connected on a jump shot, which was followed by a layup from freshman forward Shea Wurtz. Freshman forward Lilliana Petersen then poured in a three-pointer, pushing the T-Birds back in front at 25-24. Butler closed out the half with a layup by freshman guard Ashley Singhateh to carry a one point lead at the break, 26-25.

Butler got off to an early 10-2 to run to begin the third quarter, grabbing a 36-27 lead at the 6:46 mark. Three straight points from freshman guard Bre Frazier allowed Cloud County to trim the Grizzlies lead down to six points at 36-30. Butler answered with an 11-2 run, capped off by a layup from Singhateh, to widen its lead out to 47-32. Petersen added another triple for Cloud County while Davis and Frazier each added points from the foul line, but the T-Birds found themselves trailing 50-39 entering the final period.

Cloud County finished the third quarter shooting just 4-of-14 (28.6 percent) from the field, including 1-of-6 (16.7 percent) from behind the arc.

Cloud County's scoring bounced back in the fourth quarter, with the team cutting the deficit to single-digits on a three-pointer by Frazier with 5:39 remaining. Freshman forward Shea Wurtz followed with a trey of her own before Frazier scored in the lane, drawing Cloud County back to within three points at 57-54 with 4:12 to play.

Butler freshman guard Mya Mayberry scored three straight points, giving the Grizzlies a six-point edge with under four minutes to play.

After both teams went on a scoring drought of nearly three minutes, Cloud County freshman forward Talasia Thomas was fouled at the rim, scoring in the paint before knocking down a free-throw for a traditional three-point play, bringing the game back to a single possession at 60-57 with 43 seconds remaining.

Freshman guard DaNae Crosby recorded a steal off Mayberry just seconds later, but the T-Birds were unable to convert on the offensive end.

Mayberry connected on two free-throws in the closing seconds, sealing the victory for Butler.

In the loss, Cloud County shot 21-of-61 (34.4 percent) from the floor and 7-of-23 (30.4 percent) from three-point range. The seven made three-pointers in a game marked the third most for the T-Birds this season and the most since connecting on 12 made three-pointers at Coffeyville on December 11. Cloud County was outrebounded by a 45-33 margin and were outscored 36-20 in points in the paint and 20-12 in points off turnovers.

Frazier led three T-Birds in double-figures with 16 points to go with four assists and three rebounds. Davis added 14 points, three rebounds and two assists. Petersen hit on three shots from behind the arc to finish with 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Thomas had seven points and six rebounds. Wurtz contributed five points and five rebounds off the bench, while Crosby added two points and four assists.

Cloud County returns home to face Pratt Community College on Saturday, January 18 at Arley Bryant Gymnasium. Tipoff is set for 2 pm and the game will be streamed live on the T-Bird Sports Network. Fans can also listen to the game on 1390 KNCK and 98.3 FM.