Bulldogs get split in twin-bill with Glacier

The Butte High Bulldogs got a split against the Glacier High Wolfpack from Kalispell, MT on Tuesday with the girls getting nipped by 2 and the boys erasing a double-digit deficit to come away with a Western AA victory.

GIRLS: Glacier 36, Butte 34

A nip-and-tuck game from the opening tip, the Bulldogs would get a trey from Brityn Stewart to open the game and a free-throw from newcomer Selene Morrell as their only points of the first quarter but would only find themselves down by one at the end of the stanza, 5-4.  The single-point margin at quarters end would stand at halftime with Glacier in front 15-14 and also at the end of the third quarter with the Wolfpack up 22-21.  A pair of Morrell free throws to start the fourth would put the Bulldogs up 23-22 but a 7-0 run by Glacier would quiet the Bulldog crowd after guard Charlotte Oster got a three-point play the old-fashioned way, putting the Wolfpack up 29-23.  A Brityn Stewart trey would get the Dogs within 3 at 29-26 but the Wolfpack would go on another run behind guard Kennedy Moore who would get an and-one plus another free throw to put Glacier up 34-28 with under 30 seconds to play.  And then Cadence Graham started caught fire.  The freshman guard hit a three-pointer with 24 seconds to play and the Bulldogs called timeout.  On the ensuing possession, Butte fouled guard Karly Allen who missed both of the penalty free throws.  Butte got the rebound and the ball went to Graham again who hit her second triple of the night with 13.4 seconds to play and the game tied.  But it was guard Kennedy Moore getting redemption, hitting a 15-foot jumper as time expired giving Glacier the two-point victory.

BOYS: Butte 60, Glacier 52

The Bulldog boys showed tonight that it's not how you start but how you finish.  And boy did they finish.  After spotting Glacier a 9-0 lead in the first quarter the Dogs clawed their way back and got their first lead of the game 21-20 with just over two minutes to play in the first half.  But Glacier was hot all night, particularly from long range, getting 7 long balls to fall.  The Wolfpack would jump out to a 10-point lead in the third quarter and would be the beneficiaries of a Bulldog tipping the ball through the Glacier hoop on a rebound attempt and several missed layups, going up 44-34 with 1:50 to play in the stanza.  And then Butte finally showed up.  Tocher Lee would hit a triple to get the Dogs within 6.  Glacier forward Easton Kauffman's jumper would give Glacier a 7-point lead, 41-48 but Butte would go on a 15-0 run behind a pair of treys from Dylan Bache, another from Lee, a nice hook shot from Braylon Larson and stellar ball control by guard Hudson Luedtke.  Glacier would not recover, and the Bulldogs would hold on for an 8-point win.