Bravettes pick up scrappy win over Butte

The Flathead Bravettes outlasted the visiting Butte Bulldogs 39-36 in Western AA basketball Saturday in a game that featured major runs by each team.

Kennedy Moore was the leading scorer for Flathead with 12 points, knocking down two shots from beyond the arch in the process.

The Bravettes fell behind 7-0 to start the game, but snapped back with an 8-0 run of their own to end the first half and make it a two-point ballgame at the break.

In the second half, Flathead kept their momentum going with an aggressive defense that featured a mix of traps and full-court-press. This propelled the Bravettes on an 8-0 run that featured a nearly 9-minute scoring drought for Butte that lasted from midway through the third quarter till the 6:47 mark in the fourth.

"Butte came out with a good gameplan, gave us some struggles but we eventually overcame it in the third and that was good to see." Bravettes coach Sam Tudor said of his team’s slow start.

Akilah Kubi played an integral role in the Bravettes defense over this stretch by notching at least three steals in the second half.

"I was really happy with Akilah in particular and the bench kids coming in playing the way they did was big for us right now," Tudor said.

After the Bulldogs snapped their scoring drought the defensive intensity reached a peak for both teams as the squads clamped down on defense and scoring became sparse. Butte missed a potential game-tying shot from deep at the buzzer to seal the Flathead win.

Emmarie Richards paced the Bulldogs scorers with 13 points and Laura Rosenleaf chipped in 12. Kubi was the second leading scorer for Flathead with nine.

Butte 14 9 4 9 - 36

Flathead 8 13 11 7 - 39

BUTTE — Emmarie Richards 13, Laura Rosenleaf 12, Brityn Stewart 10, Brooke Groesbeck 1.

FLATHEAD — Kennedy Moore 12, Akilah Kubi 9, Maddy Moy 5, Tali Miller 4, Harlie Roth 4, Cecilia Vandenbosch 3, Mattie Thompson 2.