Flathead, Butte split
She made the second one count.
Flathead’s Caitlin Converse went 1 of 2 from the line to break a 52-all deadlock with seven seconds left to lift Flathead over Butte 53-52 Saturday in Western AA girls basketball.
“I think they played with a lot of heart,” Flathead coach Kaylee Fox said of her Bravettes, who are now 2-7 overall and 1-3 in league games. “This was our third game in five days, and we had a tough game on Thursday night. It was a gut check for us with how we respond.”
Following Converse’s go-ahead make, the Bravettes shut down Cadence Graham’s attempt to win it for the Bulldogs at the buzzer. Graham finished with 20 points.
Converse finished with 13 points while Grace Gall led the Bravettes with 15 points.
On the boys’ side, Hudson Luedtke scored 20 of his game-high 26 points in the second half and Butte pulled away from the Braves in the fourth quarter to win 78-69.
Lyric Ersland led the Braves (2-6, 0-3) with 17 points, Korbin Eaton added 11.
The loss is the third for the Braves in a week. They fell to Lakeland, Idaho in triple overtime on Tuesday in Bonners Ferry and to Missoula Big Sky on the road Thursday.
“I think our kids are tough,” Braves coach Dan Trageser said. “Our kids played hard and it was finals week on top of it too. We played a triple overtime game and get back at two in the morning, we go on the road to Big Sky and in the meantime they are students.”
Flathead girls 53, Butte 52
Gall got the Bravette offense going in the first half, as the sophomore drilled a pair of first-quarter triples. She added two more in the second quarter and helped Flathead to a 30-29 halftime lead.
“We just needed to see the ball go through the hoop tonight and get some confidence back,” Fox said. “I asked them to be more aggressive getting to the basket and that allowed us to get to the free throw line and get into a rhythm.”
Out of the break Flathead started to get some separation as Ava Malmin made it 37-32 on a layup. Malmin finished the day with 14 points.
Butte (7-2, 3-1) had an instant answer though as Brityn Stewart knocked down a three on the other end. Stewart knocked down four triples and finished with 18 points.
Flathead reestablished its advantage at the start of the final frame as Malmin hit from behind the arc on the right wing, making it 44-39.
The Bravettes took their largest lead, 49-43, when Gall knocked down her only basket of the second half.
Butte closed the gap through the final four minutes, with Graham tying the game at 52 from the free throw line with 21 seconds remaining.
Out of a timeout, Converse drove into the lane and drew contact to set up the winning free throw.
Butte 14 15 10 13 - 52
Flathead 14 16 11 12 - 53
BUTTE — Dylann Bartoletti 0 1-4 1, Cadence Graham 4 12-13 20, Sidney Whitaker 0 0-0 0, Brityn Stewart 7 0-0 18, Autumn Clary 0 0-0 0, Addie Hiatt 0 0-0 0, Franki Salusso 1 2-3 4, Gracie Jonart 0 0-0 0, Emma Johnson 3 2-4 9. Totals 15 17-24 52
FLATHEAD — Makenna Aldrich 0 1-2 1, Teagan Flint 0 0-0 0, Taylor Greene 1 0-0 2, Gracie Kilmer 0 0-0 0, Caitlin Converse 4 3-6 13, Cheyenne Heino 0 0-0 0, Ava Malmin 4 4-7 14, Grace Gall 5 1-2 15, Mattie Thompson 3 1-2 8. Totals 17 10-21 53
3-point goals — Butte 5 (Stewart 4, Johnson), Flathead 9 (Gall 4, Converse 2, Malmin 2, Thompson). Fouls — Butte 20, Flathead 17. Fouled out — Salusso, Malmin.
Butte boys 78, Flathead 69
Much like the girls before them, neither team could find much separation early on, as Eaton gave Flathead the largest lead of the first eight minutes 13-9 on a three midway through the frame.
A tight battle continued through the second, though Butte (6-3, 2-2) went up 30-24 on a three from Luedtke, one of two made baskets from the Butte junior in the half. The Bulldogs took a 31-30 lead into the break.
“We held Hudson in check in the first half,” Trageser said. “Unfortunately he goes for 20 in the second half and that's what he does, he’s a great player. He’s their motor and they play through him.”
In the third quarter the Braves’ Eli Coopman knocked down a 3-pointer to start a 9-0 run that put Flathead up 48-45. Jordan Griffin — in his first game with the Braves this season — added a layup off a steal on the next possession. Griffin finished with 11 points.
“Jordan is a spark plug for us off the bench,” Trageser said. “He brings a boost on both ends of the floor and I think our kids feed off of it.”
Butte battled back to take a 50-49 lead into the final quarter and opened the frame on a 10-1 run to lead 60-50, highlighted by Luedtke’s four-point play.
Griffin cut the lead to 66-59 getting into the paint for a basket, but Torre Tempel quickly replied with a triple to extend the lead. Tempel finished with 23 points.
Flathead got as close as 70-64 on a Griffin basket before Butte pulled away again.
Butte 18 13 19 28 - 78
Flathead 18 12 19 20 - 69
BUTTE — Spencer Callaghan 1 0-4 3, Dylan Bache 6 1-2 14, Torre Tempel 6 6-9 23, Hudson Luedtke 8 6-11 26, Raeder Grey 0 0-0 0, Brady Hanson 0 0-0 0, Kendel Nector 1 0-0 3, Braylon Larson 3 3-4 9. Totals 25 16-30 78.
FLATHEAD — Jordan Griffin 4 3-4 11, Dustyn Franchini-White 2 2-2 8, Lyric Ersland 5 6-7 17, Gabe St. Germain 2 0-2 5, Eli Coopman 2 0-0 6, Noah Sonju 2 2-2 6, Brodee Zahn 2 0-0 5, Colin Smith 0 0-0 0, Korbin Eaton 4 1-3 11. Totals 23 14-20 69.
3-point goals — Butte 12 (Tempel 5, Luedtke 4, Nector, Callaghan, Bache), Flathead 9 (Franchini-White 2, Eaton 2, Coopman 2, Ersland, St. Germain, Zahn). Fouls — Butte 18, Flathead 22. Fouled out — Zahn, Bache. Technical fouls — Griffin, Larson.