By John Robbins

Butte Central 48 vs East Helena 58

The Vigilantes had an electric crowd to support their home team and the players fed off of it and came out firing on all cylinders, the crowd created havoc from the tip and East Helena jumped out to a 7-0 lead after a three ball was splashed home by East Helena.

After another turnover from Butte Central the Vigilantes took one coast to coast before a Central timeout, 9-0 with 5:27 to go in the first quarter.

Brooke Badovinac got Butte on the board after knocking down one of two free throws, but East Helena came right back down and let loose another three ball, and then forcing a turnover on the next possession to open a 14-1 lead in the first quarter.

Bado sparked Central with her iso game making three trips to the foul line and one being a and 1 she had all 8 Central points to start the game. With three defenders on her on Centrals next possession Brooke scored another 2 to cut the lead to 16-8 at the end of quarter 1.

Brooke would cash in two more from the charity stripe, and Central would force a traveling turn over the next possession 18-10 Vigilantes.

Seemingly every time Brooke attacked the basket, she drew a foul and chipped away at the lead from the foul line. Mollie Drew got in the mix after a nice seal on her defender and a perfect pass from Arika Stajcar she cashed it in for two more, it was 22-13 East Helena with 4 minutes to play in the first half.

Bado drove the lane again and was fouled but couldn’t complete her second three-point play of the half, East Helena kept their foot on the gas and attacked the bucket relentlessly holding a 9-point advantage 5 minutes through the second quarter.

Mollie Drew had another great seal and nice dish from Bado from the right wing for another bucket down low, Brooke would cash in another jumper to cut the deficit to just 7 with 30 seconds to go.

Off a swat on the other end of the court Bado raced down court and hit a wide-open Maycee Anderson in the corner for 3 before the half expired and the Maroons trailed by just four, 28-24, Brooke had 17 first half points Mollie Drew had 4 and Maycee Anderson had 3 at the break for the Maroons.

Mollie Drew began the scoring for the Maroons in the second half with a quick 2 down low off a drive.

The Assassin kept attacking the bucket and knocking down more free throws as Central continued to chip away at the lead off East Helena missed shots and solid rebounding by Butte.

Butte Central would not go away led by Brooke offensively and pure hustle from Kathryn Lalicker, Maycee Anderson, and Mollie Drew as the Vigilantes led by 4 heading to the final frame.

East Helena made an old fashioned three-point play on their next possession to make it 41-36 East Helena, until Kathryn Lalicker casted one from long range and found nothing but the bottom of the net, 41-39 Vigilantes with 6:10 to play.

The Vigilantes would cash in another 3-ball leading to a Bado 2 pointer as teams traded buckets back and forth, a timeout would be taken, and Butte trailed by 7 with 4:19 to play in the game.

Mollie Drew made a nice cut to the hoop and laid in another two as the Maroons tried to press the issue and capture a lead. East Helena would wind up holding on and making their shots late when it counted and would go on to win this one 58-48.

Brooke Badovinac went bonkers in her last game as a Maroon, she had a game high 35, Maycee Anderson had 3, Kathryn Lalicker had 5, and Mollie drew had 6.