Butler hot shots down YSU

Staff report

INDIANAPOLIS

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 (Boardman) scored a career-high 14 points while Tieara Jones (Rayen) had 12 and Kenya Middlebrooks added 10 for YSU (3-14, 1-5)

Alyssa Pittman hit six 3-pointers in the first half and finished with 18 points to lead Butler (11-6, 5-0) Horizon). Five other Bulldogs scored at least eight points.

Butler shot 66.7 percent in the first half 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.