BUTTE – The end of school Friday meant all high school students across the state of Montana were on Christmas break. But in the Civic Center, Butte and Flathead needed a boys and girls doubleheader to add some holiday cheer to the season.
In the girls game, the Bulldogs wasted no time getting ahead. Ally Cleverly and Brittney Tierney were on fire from 3-point land, giving the Bulldogs a double-digit lead after one quarter of play. Flathead’s Taylor Henley provided a noticeable size advantage over the Butte starters and she contributed to the Braves offense that truly struggled to get anything going in terms of momentum and rhythm. Butte would win this one handily, 53-29.
In the boys game, it was the polar opposite for most of the game. Flathead came out with a size advantage. Gabe Adams and Andrew Siderius had their way in the paint for most of the game for the Braves with very little stopping them. After a pretty big halftime deficit, Butte slowly started to chip away thanks to excellent guard play from Kash Kelly. At the end, Butte looked like it might pull off the comeback, but the Braves came up clutch with game-sealing free throws and held on for the 55-51 win.
