Three Butler fouls with less than a minute left proved to be very costly, as the women’s basketball team fell to visiting Cleveland State 65-61 on Thursday.

Senior Lade Akande and sophomore Susan Lester led the offensive effort for the Bulldogs (13-6, 3-5), producing 34 points and 23 rebounds collectively.

Butler held a convincing lead in the early going, jumping out to an 11-point lead at one point. But the rest of the game would be anything but easy, as 10 ties and 12 lead changes made it a ballgame.

The Bulldogs’ largest lead of the night came after 3-pointers from senior Cassie Freeman and Lester and then freshman Brittany Bowen converted a 3-point play to make it 27-16 late in the first half.

That lead would be short-lived however, as the Vikings used a commanding 10-0 run to quickly tie the game at 29 with less than two minutes to go. Lester finally broke through with a pair of free throws, but a last second layup by Cleveland State tied the game at 31 heading into the break.

That momentum carried over early in the second half for the Vikings, but a 7-0 run put Butler up by two. The rest of the game was dominated by lead changes that continued down to the last minute.

Lester and Akande gave the Bulldogs a 59-58 lead with 57 seconds remaining. Unfortunately, personal and technical fouls followed allowing Cleveland State to sink all four free throw attempts. Two more successful trips to the line earned the Vikings the victory.

The Bulldogs shot 43.5 percent (20-for-46) from the field, including an 11-of-22 mark in the first half, and converted 17-of-23 from the line.

Cleveland State hit 46.5 percent from the field and made 21-of-28 free throws. Butler won the rebound battle though, 33 to 23.

Akande finished with her second double-double of the season and a team-high 21 points and 12 rebounds. Lester added 13 points and 11 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season, the highest on the team. Bowen contributed 12 points, while freshman Azjah Bass knocked in eight.