The Wright State women's basketball team led by as much as 13 points midway through the second half on Saturday afternoon at the Ervin J. Nutter Center, however, Butler outscored WSU 32-16 over the remainder of the ball game to claim a 51-48 overtime decision.

BU made only 11 field goals in the contest, but connected on 27-of-43 from the foul line to claim the win.

Butler opened the scoring with a free throw at the 17:23 mark, but it was the Raiders that held the early advantage. WSU would stake to an early seven point edge when Paige Lowe stole a pass and raced to the other end to convert a layup, making the score 14-7 in favor of the home team.

The Bulldogs trimmed the lead to just two points, with all five points coming at the foul line, before Erica Richardson converted a free throw of her own to make it a 15-12 contest. The Green and Gold closed the half on an 8-3 spurt to extend their lead to seven points and head to the locker room leading 22-15.

The Green and Gold forced 18 Butler turnovers in the opening frame and help the BU offense to just three made field goals. WSU shot 42-percent in the first half and held the edge in points in the paint (14-4) and points off turnovers (10-4). Butler was 9-13 from the free throw stripe and held a 15-13 edge on the boards.

The Green and Gold opened the second half on a 10-4 run to extend their lead to double digits at 32-19 with 12:10 to play in the contest. A Susan Lester three pointer with 9:37 remaining pulled the Bulldogs within six at 32-26, but Kanisha Ward answered with a three-pointer of her own as the shot clock expired to keep WSU ahead.

Butler trimmed the lead to just two points when Alyssa Pittman converted a layup and knocked in a three pointer, followed by a pair of free throws from Terra Burns made it a 35-33 contest. Molly Fox made a layup, but the Bulldogs countered with a Burns free throw and Brittany Bowen layup to make it a one point contest with 2:29 left.

A Pittman foul shot with 1:41 left tied the game at 37-37, capping a 18-5 BU run over an eight-minute span. The Raiders answered as Fox nailed a three-pointer from the corner with just one second remaining on the shot clock.

Butler (18-7, 11-3 Horizon) closed the game with the final three points, sending the contest to overtime at 40-40. In the extra period, Butler made seven free throws and a pair of layups to account for their 11 points, while WSU would muster only eight in the overtime to bring the score to 51-48 in favor of BU.

Ward led all scorers with 13 points, to go along with nine boards and four assists. Fox chipped in nine points and eight boards, while Richardson scored seven and Thomas added six points. WSU shot 35 percent for the game, while the Bulldogs finished with a 27 percent clip from the floor. Wright State held the final edge in rebounding (38-37), but committed 32 turnovers in the loss.

Wright State (9-16, 5-10 Horizon) returns to action this week when the Raiders travel to Youngstown State on Thursday, February 25, starting at 5:15.