Grizzlies season comes to an end on the road at No. 1-seeded Pirates

Grizzlies season comes to an end on the road at No. 1-seeded Pirates

The Butler Grizzlies saw their season end on Tuesday, falling just short against the top seeded Independence Pirates, 61-48, in the quarterfinals of the Region VI tournament.

Butler was led by Cymirah Williams, who had a fantastic game, finishing with 17 points along with nine rebounds. The Grizzlies got another significant contribution off the bench from Kaylee Nero, as the Oklahoma City native scored 12 points. But it wasn't enough, as the offensive woes that have plagued the Grizzlies this season came back to haunt them again on Tuesday. Butler shot just 35% and made only two of their 13 three point attempts. Butler scored only seven points in the second quarter, and just nine in the third, as they built a hole that they were unable to dig themselves out of.

Butler did have a very good night defensively, holding the Pirates to 36% from the field, and outrebounding Independence, 36-31. Williams' nine boards led the Grizzlies, as they gave up only seven second chance points. Butler also forced 18 takeaways which led to 16 Grizzly points off turnovers. But the Pirates had a big advantage from the free throw line, succeeding in 15 of their 18 trips to the stripe, compared to just six makes from Butler.

The Grizzlies' season ends with a record of 18-13, and 12-12 in conference play. Despite a very good 10-5 record at the Power Plant, Butler was just 7-8 away from home.