Butte High readies for the home stretch

With the City Championship behind us, that leaves seven games in the Butte High basketball regular season. Those seven games represent the second trip through the Western AA. For the Bulldogs, round 2 represents a big change. The Girls will have five of those final seven at home (finally), and the boys will spend some quality time on the bus over the next 4 weeks.

Let’s look at the standings after the first round of games in the Western AA, we will start with the girls.

                           Conference Record

Missoula Hellgate            6-1
Helena Capital                 5-2
Kalispell Flathead            5-2
Helena High School         5-2
Missoula Sentinel             4-3
Missoula Big Sky              2-5
Kalispell Glacier               1-6
Butte High School            0-7

The Butte High girls will continue to battle, and again they get to do it at home. That is going to make a difference as conference play draws to a close. The Dogs are averaging 36 points a game and have struggled with consistency. In 11 games they have had six different leading scorers, which speaks to their ability to put the ball in the basket. If they are able to get night-in, night-out production from 3 ladies they are going to be in a lot of basketball games.

Seniors Laura Rosenleaf and Emmarie Richards lead the Dogs in scoring at 8 points a game, Rosenleaf is #3 in Class AA for rebounds, averaging 10 boards a game. Also for Butte High, Brityn Stewart and Payton Clary are both capable of going off. Stewart accounted for 16 points against Big Sky, and Clary led the Dogs in scoring against both Glacier and Hellgate. Then you have to fold in young Cadence Graham who has led the Bulldogs in scoring the last two games, 18 against Butte Central and 7 at Helena High.

This team is getting better each week and playing at home is going to be a big bonus.

The Butte High boys find themselves smack-dab in the middle of the Western AA pit. Here is a look at the Western AA boy’s standings after the first go-around.

Missoula Hellgate           6-1
Helena High                     6-1
Butte High                        4-3
Missoula Big Sky              4-3
Helena Capital                 4-3
Kalispell Glacier               3-4
Missoula Sentinel            1-6
Kalispell Flathead            0-7

The Butte High Boys enter the second half of the season as the top-scoring team in the Western AA at 58 points a game. In conference, they are getting 59 points a contest and allowing 57. Playing at Ross Richardson has been good to the Dogs, going 4-1 in conference home games, and 0-2 on the road. Stealing wins on the road is going to be key for Butte High down the stretch with 5 of their last 7 games on the road. Hudson Luedtke lead Butte High in scoring netting 15 points a game. Jace Stenson is in double digits, getting 10 a game, Cameron Gurnsey at 9 a game, and Casey Merrifield accounts for 8 points a game.

When you look at the Butte High roster you know guys like Bo Demarais, Dylan Bache, Kale McDonald, and Tocher Lee are going to make a large impact for Butte High as we roll through February.

After the City Championship last night, the Dogs now prepare for conference games against Glacier on Friday, and Flathead on Saturday. Girls are home for both, and the boys will make the overnight trip.

#GoButte

Get our free mobile app