BOX SCORE

PHOTO GALLERY (photos by Olivia Walter)

INDIANAPOLIS - A second-half BU comeback fell short as Detroit held off the Butler women's basketball team, 55-51, Thursday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Seniors Brittany Bowen and Chloe Hamilton each had 11 points to lead the Bulldogs.

With Wright State's loss at Valparaiso, the Bulldogs (14-8, 8-2) remain two games ahead of the Raiders for second place in the Horizon League.

The game was a slow-paced affair, as Butler was limited to 43 field goal attempts on the night, and shot just 2 for 11 from 3-point range. The Bulldogs, who have made a living on the glass so far in league play this season, were out-rebounded 32-25 and grabbed just two offensive rebounds.

The Bulldogs led by as many as 11-5 early, but Detroit would answer with a 14-4 run to lead 19-15 with 7:49 to play in the first half. A Titan free throw with one second on the clock would make it 25-25 at halftime.

Detroit's lead climbed to 46-35 at the 9:30 mark before Butler made a comeback. A free throw by Bowen and a 3-point play by Hamilton made it 46-39 with 8:47 to play. Back-to-back lay-ups by Bowen and Hamilton cut the deficit to 47-45 and forced Detroit to call timeout.

With Butler trailing 53-49, Hamilton scored to make it 53-51 with 36 seconds left. Opting not to foul early in the shot clock, the Bulldogs would end up fouling with 7 ticks remaining. Detroit's Dominique Dixon made two free throws to provide the final score.

Senior Azjah Bass added nine points off the bench for the Bulldogs. Sophomore Claire Freeman had eight points and three rebounds.

Detroit was led by Cherridy Thornton's 14 points. Yar Shayok added 12 points and nine rebounds.

Butler, now two games out of first in the league standings, host Wright State Saturday, Feb. 5 at 2 p.m. The contest is BU's WBCA Pink Zone game for breast cancer awareness.