The Class AA State tournament is not supposed to be easy.

Only the top eight teams in the state move on to the final weekend of high school basketball in Montana. This year, those final eight teams have a combined 109-46 record.

Butte High, though, has a particularly hard draw as the No. 3 seed from the Western AA. The Bulldogs open against the 18-1 Gallatin Raptors from Bozeman in a 6:30 p.m. game Thursday. (Bracket)

The tournament will be played in the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse, which is on the Montana State campus.

Gallatin tied for first place in the Eastern AA with Billings West. The Golden Bears, though, won the tiebreaker for the top seed.

Both teams advanced to the state tournament without having to play a playoff game. That means Gallatin has not had to play since it beat Bozeman 76-40 Feb. 27. So, the Raptors will enter the game with two full weeks of rest and preparation.

Gallatin’s only loss was a 60-48 decision Feb. 11 at West. The Raptors beat the Bears 55-47 Jan. 17 in Bozeman.

The Raptors enter the tournament with four players averaging in double figures scoring. Jada Davis, a 5-foot-7 junior, leads the way for Gallatin. She leads the Class AA in scoring with 20.1 points per game. That goes along with 4.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.

Ave Odegard, a 5-11 junior, adds 11.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game to the lineup, while 5-9 sophomore Saydey Perry contributes with 11.5 points per game.

Makayla Coleman, a 6-foot junior, averages 10.6 points and 8.1 rebounds, and 5-11 senior Emma Hardman averages 3.8 assists per game.

As a team, the Raptors have outscored their opponents 1,274-735. That is a victory margin of 28.4 points per game.

And the Raptors are the No. 2 seed? That almost seems impossible.

Coach Bryan Arntson’s Bulldogs enter the tournament undersized — particularly when compared to their first-round opponent. But Butte High is riding a hot hand after Friday’s 62-55 Western AA playoff win over Helena Capital at the Richardson Gym.

Butte High (14-6) has won six of its last eight games to qualify for state for the first time since 2022. The Bulldogs have a winning record for the first time since they went 16-7 in 2019.

Butte is looking for its first win in the first round since 2013, and the Bulldogs are looking for their first state championship game appearance since coach Jeff Arntson led them to the final game in 2008 and 2009.

The Bulldogs are seeking their first state title.

Sophomore Cadence Graham paced the Bulldogs with 20 points, five assists, four steals and six rebounds in Friday’s playoff win.

Senior Dylann Bartoletti had perhaps her best game as a Bulldog in the win. She scored 12 points and hit some clutch free throws down the stretch. Sophomore Allie Becker also played what might have been her best game for Butte High. She came off the bench to score nine points and gave the Bulldogs some much-needed toughness with senior Addie Hiatt out for the season with a knee injury.

Graham leads the Bulldogs with 18.0 points per game. That ranks second in the Class AA in scoring. She also ranks fifth with 3.3 steals per game and eighth with 3.3 assists.

Brityn Stewart, a 5-8 senior who is the vocal and emotional leader of the Bulldogs, averages 13.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.

Graham, Stewart and Bartoletti will be joined in the starting lineup by senior Sidney Whitaker and junior Franki Salusso.

Eighth graders Ellison Graham and Saege Grey have seen time off the bench for the Bulldogs this season. The younger Graham sister poured in eight points in Friday’s win.

Emma Johnson, a 5-10 junior, is often the first player off the bench for the Bulldogs. Juniors Gracie Jonart and Ally Godbout have also seen time off the bench, as has lightning-quick junior Autumn Clary.

The winner of the Butte-Gallatin game will play the winner of Thursday’s 8 p.m. semifinal between Missoula Big Sky (13-5) and Bozeman (9-11) in Friday’s 8 p.m. semifinal.

The top half of the bracket will see Missoula Hellgate (13-6) play Billings Skyview (12-8) and Billings West (18-1) take on Helena High (12-8).

Gatorade for Luedtke?

Butte High’s boys’ basketball season will not end in the Class AA State tournament. The Bulldogs fell in a 57-56 thriller to Missoula Sentinel in the Western AA playoffs Friday at the Richardson Gym.

The Bulldogs, though, could still end up with some serious hardwood.

Junior guard Matt Luedtke has to be at least in the running for the Montana Gatorade Player of the Year honors. On the season, Luedtke leads the Class AA in scoring with 19.2 points per game. He also leads the Class AA with 6.1 assists per contest.

That is something you do not see every year. Last year, Luedtke led the AA with 5.9 assists per game while ranking fourth in scoring with 15.8 points per game. He is the leading scorer in Butte High boys’ history, and he has his senior season left to play.

Of course, Luedtke has some serious competition for the honor. One of the most serious contenders is a guy who played against the Bulldogs Friday.

Lincoln Rogers, a 6-foot-7 junior guard, scored 16 points in the win over Butte High. He ranks No. 2 in scoring in the AA with 18.8 points per game. He leads the Class AA with 8.4 rebounds per game, just ahead of Butte High senior Dylan “Bobby” Bache’s 8.2 boards per contest.

Rogers and the Spartans beat Butte High three times this season.

A pair of Dillon Beavers — Carter Curnow and Kyler Engellant — have to be in consideration for the award, too. Engellant averages 20.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Curnow adds 14.9 points and 6.1 boards.

They lead a defending Class A champion Dillon team that heads to the Class A State tournament in Billings with a 20-1 record after cruising to the Western A Divisional title.

Also, Missoula Loyola’s Rey Johnston, the 2024 winner, is a senior having a strong season as he bids to go back-to-back with the Gatorade.

Rough day for Butte basketball

Friday was certainly a good night for the Butte High girls’ basketball team as the Bulldogs punched their ticket to the Class AA State tournament.

The day, however, was a rough one for Mining City hoops. The day saw three of Butte’s four varsity teams bow out of postseason action shy of state tournament appearances.

Butte Central’s boys’ and girls’ teams both lost loser-out games at the Western A Divisional tournament in Whitefish before the Bulldog boys and girls took the court for their playoff doubleheader.

That doesn’t mean the Maroons and Bulldogs did not go down without a fight, however.

Butte Central senior Owen McPartland poured in 42 points — which is second best the history of Butte boys’ prep basketball. That included 22 points in the fourth quarter of BC’s season-ending 73-71 loss to Bigfork.

The loss ended a run of 10 straight appearances in the Class A State tournament for the Maroons. This year marks just the third time in 21 seasons under Brodie Kelly that the Maroons have failed to qualify for state.

That is a remarkable run, to say the least.

The loss closed the book on the BC hoops career for McParland and fellow seniors Patrick Stimatz and Justus “Sexy And I Know It” McGee. The three were freshman when the Maroons won the Class A State title in 2022.

McPartland finished his career with just under 1,000 total points, while Stimatz was a key contributor for three seasons, too.

McGee wasn’t planning on going out for the team for his senior season. However, the future Rocky Mountain College football player changed his mind after he missed much of his senior football season with an injury.

Butte High’s boys will say goodbye to seniors Tocher Lee, Kylar Kjersten, Spencer Callaghan and Bache.

Lee and Bache played varsity since their freshman season. Callaghan played a huge role on the team, especially early when Lee was out with injuries. Kjersten didn’t see a ton of playing time this season, but coach Matt Luedtke said he was a valuable practice player his entire career.

Coach Quinn Carter’s Butte Central’s girls, meanwhile, do not lose any seniors. The team sent seven freshmen to the divisional tournament.

So, fans of the BC girls are already looking forward to the 2025-26 season.