BOZEMAN — Nobody will ever be able to accuse the 2024-25 Butte High girls’ basketball team of giving up easily.
No, these Bulldogs have some serious fight in them
That undeniable truth was on full display Saturday night at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse. Butte High nearly pulled a rabbit out of its hat with a ferocious comeback attempt in the third-place game of the Class AA State tournament on the Montana State campus.
Missoula Big Sky, though, held on for a 62-58 victory and the coveted trophy. Butte High headed home from the State tournament empty handed, but not before sending a message to the rest of the Class AA that the Bulldogs will definitely be back.
“It was awesome,” Butte High coach Bryan Arntson said of the Bulldog comeback bid, which turned 17-point deficit into a three-point game in the blink of an eyed. “The girls have battled all year.”
Big Sky led 58-41 after a bucket by senior Kadynce Couture with 2 minutes, 57 seconds left. The Bulldogs scored the next 13 points.
“They could have called it a weekend,” Arntson said of his team. “They didn’t. They fought.”
While Big Sky fans might have thought the game was over early in the first quarter, Butte High just kept plugging away.
And plugging. And plugging.
Eighth grader Ellison Graham sank a 3-pointer with 37 seconds left to cut that lead to 58-54.
Sophomore Cadence Graham, who scored a total of 51 points in Butte High’s two games on the day, hit two free throws and drove for a hoop to make it 61-58.
Butte High had a chance to tie when Cadence Graham found her sister for a 3-point attempt in the waning seconds. The shot contested by Sadie McGuinn, though, didn’t fall, and the Eagles were able to hit just enough free throws down the stretch to hang on for the win.
The game nearly got away from the Bulldogs in the second quarter. Butte High took a 12-11 lead after the first quarter, but the Eagles opened the second with a 9-0 run. Butte High never led again.
Big Sky outscored the Dogs 17-4 in the second quarter, taking a 28-16 lead into halftime. Junior Avory DeCoite sank a shot from a step inside of half court to send the Eagles into the locker room on a high.
The Eagles extended that to 47-30 after three quarters.
DeCoite scored 18 points to lead three Eagles in double figures in the win. Kenzie Schmitz, a 6-foot freshman, added 16 points, while Couture scored 14 before fouling out. Schmitz sank 7 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter.
Senior Brityn Stewart made sure she did not get cheated in her last game in a Bulldog uniform. She scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
“Brityn kind of epitomizes the rest of the team,” Arntson said. “With her toughness and leadership, she just competes.
“She didn’t have many minutes off this tournament. She just battled.”
Cadence Graham, who set Butte High’s girls’ school record with nine 3-poitners in a morning loser-out win over 2024 State champion Billings Skyview, added 16 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists.
Ellison Graham scored nine points, while senior Dylann Bartoletti tossed in five, sophomore Allie Becker netted four, and junior Emma Johnson tossed in one.
Junior Franki Salusso, senior Sidney Whitaker, sophomore Autumn Clary and eight grader Saege Grey also competed for the Bulldogs.
Big Sky finished the season at 16-6 and with some hardware to come home.
Butte High closed the season at 16-8, which is the team’s best mark since going 16-7 in 2019. The Bulldogs won their first game at the State tournament since 2013, and Butte won two State games for the first time since 2009.
Arntson praised his four seniors — Stewart, Bartoletti, Whitaker and Addie Hiatt — for the impressive season. Hiatt was a huge part of the team before going down with a torn ACL on Senior Night.
“This puts us in the spot to expect this every year,” Arntson said. “These four seniors have really grown. The set the bar for what’s expected.”
(In the photo, Butte High junior Franki Salusso guards as Big Sky’s Mya Hubbard takes the ball down court in the fourth quarter.)
The ButteCast with Bill Foley 