By Bruce Sayler
It was difficult to determine THE important factor – the 17-3 start Butte High got on Glacier of Kalispell, or the first-half domination on the boards by the smaller Bulldogs.
Both head coach Bryan Arntson and senior post player Emma Johnson said plenty of other factors went into Butte High 68-48 crunching of the Wolfpack in a Western AA Conference high school girls’ basketball game Friday evening in the Butte Civic Center.
After Karley Allen’s 3-point basket following the tipoff for a quick Glacier lead, the Bulldogs went on a rampage. Cadence Graham ignited it with a pullup jumper and then a 3-ball off a Johnson kickout pass. Johnson netted a free throw and workaholic inside player Franki Salusso took an assist from Autumn Clary to the hoop. Salusso hit again on a short-range jumper, then, after Clary caged a foul shot, putback rebound for a bucket. Johnson tallied again as Clary passed inside and Allie Becker funneled in two freebies.
The Bulldogs led 17-3 with a minute left in the first quarter.
In the meantime, the Butte High defense was forcing turnovers and the undersized rebounding crew was yanking down carom after carom. By halftime, the Bulldogs had outrebounded the Wolfpack 28-10 and finished the game with a 45-20 margin.
Sparkplug Saege Grey came off the bench to seize eight of the boards before halftime and finished with a game-high 10.
“The girls came out ready to play,” Arntson said. “They established the tempo and we rebounded the ball extremely well. We’ll need to do that the last part of the season as we face bigger teams. We got contributions from everybody.”
The balanced Butte High scoring was led by Graham with 15 points, Salusso with 14 and Becker with 10. Eight Bulldogs filled spots in the columns as Clary had nine, Kendallyn Schad six, Grey and Johnson each five and Elli Graham four.
The Bulldogs built a 61-34 command through three quarters before Glacier limited the bench to seven points.
“I think it was definitely that we got off to a good start,” the 5-foot-10 Johnson said. “Offensively, we just worked together well as a team. We did the work on it, rebounded and passed the ball well and kept the pace going.
“I think we’re playing our best, right now.”
Glacier would probably agree with her.
The disparity in rebounds helped Butte High launch nearly twice as many shots as Glacier, firing 62 into the air.
Arntson liked what he saw, too.
“We really executed in the first half,” he said about the team’s 38-20 command at intermission. “We hit some big shots and we shared the ball well. The girls made some great passes.”
He also had praise for Grey, a 5-8 freshman.
“Saege doesn’t quit,” Arntson said. “She has a great knack for tracking the ball and getting rebounds. She comes in and plays great.”
Grey is the daughter of Butte High head football coach Arie Grey and Heidi (McGree) Grey.
After the quick 3-0 lead on Allen’s 3-ball, the Wolfpack were never really in the lead again. The halftime 38-20 bulge flooded into a 47-20 difference as Becker connected on a trey, and Cadence Graham, Clary and Becker all scored baskets for a 9-0 run to launch the third quarter.
Butte High’s biggest lead of the game was 29 points, twice, early in the fourth quarter at 63-34 after a Clary layup and 66-37 when Cadence Graham’s three-point play countered Allen’s fourth 3-point basket of the tilt.
Arntson wasn’t thrilled about Glacier’s seven 3-pointers made.
“Seven turkeys (allowed), that isn’t like us,” he said.
Allen had 13 points to pace the Wolfpack and Cassidy Daniels came off the bench to score 12.
Butte High will play the other Kalispell school, Flathead, on Saturday in a 3 p.m. game in the Civic Center.
KALISPELL GLACIER (1-13, 0-9) – Lucy Holloway 3-4 0-0 6, Karley Allen 4-11 1-2 13, Miley Fritz 1-2 0-0 2, Olivia Warriner 0-3 2-2 2, Nika Wangerin 2-2 3-6 7, Cassidy Daniels 4-5 2-2 12, Alauna Hagen 1-4 0-2 3, Cadence Daniels 0-2 0-0 0, Ava Grady 1-1 1-1 3, Clara Ahner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-33 9-15 48.
BUTTE HIGH (8-5, 6-2) – Allie Becker 3-7 2-4 10, Cadence Graham 5-13 4-5 15, Autumn Clary 4-8 1-3 9, Franki Salusso 6-9 2-2 14, Emma Johnson 2-6 1-2 5, Saege Grey 1-6 3-6 5, Elli Graham 2-4 0-0 4, Kendallyn Schad 3-4 0-0 6, Reese Johnson 0-2 0-0 0, Stella Callaghan 0-0 0-0 0, Avery Barsness 0-2 0-0 0, Ellie Yates 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-62 13-22 68.
Glacier 5 15 14 14 – 48
Butte High 21 17 23 7 – 68
3-point goals – Glacier 7-16 (Allen 4-9, Fritz 0-1, Warriner 0-1, Cassidy Daniels 2-3, Hagen 1-1, Cadence Daniels 0-1), Butte High 3-21 (Becker 2-3, C. Graham 1-6, Clary 0-3, Salusso 0-1, E. Johnson 0-3, Grey 0-1, E. Graham 0-1, R. Johnson 0-1, Barsness 0-2, Yates 0-1). Fouled out – none. Total fouls – Glacier 17, Butte High 14. Technicals – none. Rebounds – Glacier 20 (Cassidy Daniels 5), Butte High 45 (Grey 10, C. Graham 6, Clary 6, Salusso 6, Becker 5). Blocks – Glacier 2 (Fritz 1, Warriner 1), Butte High 2 (Becker 1, E. Johnson 1). Assists – Glacier 10 (Warriner 5), Butte High 22 (C. Graham 8, Grey 4). Steals – Glacier 10 (Cassidy Daniels 3), Butte High 13 (Clary 3, Becker 2, C. Graham 2, R. Johnson 2). Turnovers – Glacier 21, Bute High 15.
