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Podcast No. 252: Jessica (Criss) Picker
There has never been a Miss Montana to win the crown while living in the Mining City.
We have at least on Miss Montana living in the “Holey City” today, and nobody seems to be more of a Butte girl that Jessica Picker.
Jessica, whose maiden name is Criss, hails from Klamath Falls, Oregon, and she won the Miss Montana Crown while attending Montana State University in 2020. She was again “crowned” Miss Montana in 2021 after COVID wiped out the 2020 Miss America pageant.
In five Miss Montana pageants, Jessica took home Miss Congeniality honors five times. She also took home that title at the Miss America pageant in 2021. She has a black belt in Japanese Jujutsu, so she can kick your butt while wearing high heels.
Of course, Miss Congeniality would never do that.
After serving as Miss Montana for two years — and she is the only woman to ever pull that off — Jessica decided to join the Miss Montana board. She did that to try to make the pageant even better.
Part of that plan is to bring the pageant to Butte. It will be in the Mining City for the first time on June 21. A site for that has not been set just yet, but it will likely be held in one of the school auditoriums.
Jessica, who studied equine science at Montana State University, plans to someday use horses as therapy animals to help her fellow humans. In the meantime, she is working as a veterinary technician at Highlands Veterinarian Hospital in Butte, where she wins over people and pets alike.
Listen in to this podcast to hear to how and why Jessica got into the pageant game when she was a senior in high school. Listen how she used her Miss Montana voice and platform to teach the importance of self-defense.
Listen to why she wants to bring the Miss Montana pageant to Butte. Listen to how she reluctantly moved to the Mining City, and hear how she might not ever leave.
Also, listen to hear why Jessica is the ultimate Miss Congeniality.
Today’s podcast is presented by Leskovar Honda, home of the 20-year, 200,000-mile warranty.
Note: Butte’s Bar-Beth Smith won the Miss Montana USA crown in 1959, and Mitriann Popovich was crowned Miss Montana USA in 1972. They represented the Treasure State in the Miss USA pageant.
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Luedtke, Graham, Stewart are All-State
Hudson takes home offensive MOP; Arntson is co-Coach of the Year
The Class AA All-Conference and All-State selections were released today, and three Butte High players took home All-State recognition.
Receiving All-State honors for the Bulldogs are junior Hudson Luedtke on the boys’ side and senior Brityn Stewart and sophomore Cadence Graham on the girls’ side.
Luedtke took home All-State recognition for the third time. Graham earned the honor last year, too, while Stewart closes her career with her first All-State nod.
Luedtke was also named the Western AA Most Outstanding Player on offense after leading the Class AA in scoring and assists.
That is something nobody has done in Montana in at least a decade and a half. Luedtke, who became the Butte High boys’ career points leader midway through the season, averaged 19.2 points and 6.1 assists per game.
Graham, who set Butte High’s girls’ record with nine made 3-pointers in a win over Billings Skyivew at the Class AA State tournament Saturday in Bozeman, ranked second in the state with 18.0 points per game in the regular season.
That average went up after her 35-point game against the Falcons. Graham, who led the Class AA with a 42 percent 3-point percentage, also ranked ninth with 3.2 assists per game and fifth with 3.4 steals.
Stewart finished the regular season sixth in the Class AA with 13.2 points per game. She was 15th in the AA with 6.1 rebounds per game.
Butte High senior Dylan “Bobby” Bache took home a second-team all-conference nod, while sophomore Braylon Larson received an all-conference honorable mention.
Bache ranked No. 9 in the Class AA with 14.6 points per game. He was second in the AA wit 8.2 rebounds per game.
Larson averaged 10.3 points and ranked fourth in the AA with 7.8 rebounds and one block per game.
Butte High fourth-year girls’ head coach Bryan Arntson shared Western AA Coach of the Year honors with Missoula Big Sky’s Travis Williams. That comes after Arntson’s Bulldogs posted a 16-8 record, which was the Bulldogs’ best mark since 2019.
Click the links below to see all the players recognized.
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Six Maroons receive postseason honors
McPartland, Sutton, Peoples, Otherbull, McQueary, Forbes take home all-conference recognition
The Southwestern A All-Conference and All-State basketball selections were released to the media Wednesday morning, and six Butte Central players made the cut.
Senior Owen McPartland was the lone Maroon named first-team all-conference. Sophomore Joshua Sutton took home a second-team selection, while junior Ryan Peoples received on honorable mention.
On the girls’ side, BC freshman Zayonna Otherbull was named second-team all-conference. Freshman Kenzie McQueary and sophomore Rylee Forbes both received an honorable mention.
Dillon’s Carter Curnow and Kyler Engellant shared the Southwestern A MVP honors for the boys. They were joined on the All-State team by Frenchtown sophomore Hank Smith and Hamilton junior Canaan Magness.
McPartland led BC with 19.8 points per game this season. He scored 42 points in BC’s last game, a season-ending loss to Bigfork at the Western A Divisional tournament in Whitefish.
Sutton averaged 17.0 points per game for the Maroons. His 51 made 3-pointers led the Maroons, topping McPartland by three. During the season, Sutton tied Dougie Peoples’ school record with eight made 3-pointers in a game.
Peoples received the honor despite battling illnesses during the season. He still finished the year averaging 9.8 points per game.
Frenchtown junior Mason Quinn took home the girls’ Southwestern A MVP honor. She was joined on the All-State team by Dillon seniors Kenleigh Graham and Kylie Konen and Frenchtown senior Heather Haskins.
Otherbull averaged 9.1 points and 5.5 rebounds to lead the Maroons, who won two play-in games to qualify for the Divisional tournament.
McQueary averaged 8.5 points per game for the Maroons, while Forbes averaged 6.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
Click the links below to see all the Southwestern A All-Conference and All-State selections.
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All-Stars split twin bill, thrill crowd
Bache, Larson lead Big Sky boys
In a pair of All-Star games were fans count 3-pointers and dunks more than they do the final score, the Treasure State and Big Sky teams split the Southwest Montana High School All-Star Basketball Classic Tuesday night at the Montana Tech HPER Complex.
After the Treasure State pulled away for an 84-52 win in the girls’ game, the Big Sky boys won 115-75 in the nightcap.
The Big Sky teams included players from Butte High and Butte Central, while the Treasure State teams included players from Dillon and Anaconda.
Butte High sophomore Braylon Larson and Bulldog senior Dylan “Bobby” Bache were stars among All-Stars, leading the way to the Big Sky victory. Bache tossed in 19 points, while Larson followed with 18.
Larson’s total included at least four dunks that electrified the crowd.
All 13 Big Sky All-Stars scored points in the win. That includes 12 points from Butte High senior Torre Temple, and 10 apiece from Boulder’s Tyler Fryderlund and Hunter Stevens. Butte High senior Tocher Lee, Butte Central junior Ryan Peoples and BC sophomore GG Fantini.
Central senior Owen McPartland added seven points, while Big Sky got six from Sheridan’s Trey Schrank, four apiece from Sheridan’s Kyle Theis and BC sophomore Joshua Sutton and one from Whitehall’s Trent Larson.
Ennis star Kace Wagner’s 17 points paced Treasure State, which also saw all 13 players dent the scorebook. Dillon’s Braxton Turney scored 12 points, while Beaver teammate Gabe Lemelin scored 10. Anaconda’s Travis Dye scored nine.
Philipsburg’s Erik Pitcher, Twin Bridges’ Flint Janzen and Ennis’ Ryker Swanson scored four points. Twin Bridges’ Hunter Turk, West Yellowstone’s Damian Ramales, Anaconda’s Shane Shalk and Deer Lodge’s Gideon Rubink scored three, Deer Lodge’s Shawn Lombardi tossed in two, and West Yellowstone’s Noah Flores netted one.
McPartland won the boys’ 3-point contest at halftime of the girls’ game. He and Sutton each hit 15 points to tope Tempel in the final round. McPartland then hit all three shots in a tiebreaker for the win.
Marissa Snyder of Ennis poured in 24 points to lead the Treasure State stars, who broke the game open with a 32-7 run in the fourth quarter. She was one of three Treasure State All-Stars to score in double figures.
Anaconda’s Meela Mitchel scored all of her 18 points in the second half. That includes 12 points in the big fourth quarter. Dillon’s Kylie Konen finished with 14 points.
Kenleigh Graham of Dillon scored nine points, while Mikendra Ledgerwood scored eight points.
Treasure state also got four points apiece from Dillon’s Cassie Keller and Sage Tash and two from Ennis’ Mikayla Ledgerwood.
Also competing for the Treasure State All-Stars were Ennis’ Tanaya Hauser Philipsburg’s Montannah Piar, Deer Lodge’s Allison Hathaway and Whitehall’s Julia Hoagland.
West Yellowstone’s Ali Spence and Butte High sophomore Cadence Graham each scored in double figures to lead Big Sky. Spence scored 19 points, while Graham tossed in 12. Both sank three 3-pointers.
Cameron Toney of Boulder scored eight points, while Central junior Arika Stajcar hit a long 3-pointer and scored five points. Big Sky also got three points apiece from Butte High seniors Dylann Bartoletti and Brityn Stewart, and two from Boulder’s Rylan Eveland.
Also competing for Big Sky were Natalie Salinas of West Yellowstone, BC freshman Zayonna Otherbull, BC sophomore Rylee Forbes, and Butte High junior Franki Salusso.
Kenleigh Graham hit 13 3-pointers in the final round to win the 3-point contest at the halftime of the boys’ game. Cadence Graham and Mitchell each sank 11 in the finals.
GIRLS
Treasure State 84, Big Sky 52
TREASURE STATE — Marissa Snider 9 2-2 24, Tanaya Houser 0 0-0 0, Montannah Piar 0 0-0 0, Mikendra Ledgerwood 4 0-0 8, Cassie Keller 2 0-0 4, Allison Hathaway 0 0-0 0, Julia Hoagland 0 0-0 0, Mikayla Ledgerwood 1 0-0 2, Kylie Konen 6 1-2 14, Kenleigh Graham 4 0-0 9, Meela Mitchell 7 1-2 18, Sage Tash 2 0-0 4. Totals 35 5-7 83.
BIG SKY — Natalie Salinas 0 0-0 0, Dylann Bartoletti 1 0-0 3, adence Graham 3 1-1 12, Cameron Toney 3 0-0 8, Zayonna Otherbull 0 0-0 0, Rylan Eveland 1 0-0 2, Rylee Forbes 0 0-0 0, Brityn Stewart 1 0-0 3, Franki Salusso 0 0-0 0, Ari Spence 8 0-0 19, Arika Stajcar 2 0-0 5. Totals 20 1-1 52.
Treasure State 17 19 15 32 — 83
Big Sky 15 14 16 7 — 52
3-point goals — Treasre State 8 (Snider 4, Mitchell 3, Graham), Big Sky 11 (Graham 3, Spence 3, Toney 2, Stewart, Bartoletti, Stajcar).BOYS
Big Sky 115, Treasure State 75
TREASURE STATE — Hunter Turk 1 0-0 3, Damian Ramales 1 0-0 3, Erik Pitcher 2 0-0 4, Shawn Lombardi 1 0-1 2, Flint Janzen 2 0-2 4, Shane Shalk 1 0-0 3, Ryker Swanson 2 0-0 4, Travis Dye 2 2-2 9, Braxton Turney 4 0-2 12, Kace Wagner 5 3-3 17, Gideon Rubnik 1 0-0 3, Noah Flores 0 1-2 1, Gabe Lemelin 4 0-0 10. Totals 28 6-12 75.
BIG SKY — Kyler Theis 2 0-0 4, Ryan Peoples 3 0-0 8, Tocher Lee 3 0-0 8, Trent Larson 0 1-2 1, Trey Schrank 3 0-0 6, Tyler Fryderlund 5 0-0 10, Dylan “Bobby” Bache 8 1-1 19, Joshua Sutton 2 0-0 4, Hunter Stevens 4 0-0 10, Torre Tempel 4 0-0 12, GG Fantini 3 2-2 8, Owen McPartland 3 0-0 7, Braylon Larson 9 0-0 18. Totals 51 4-5 115.
Treasure State 15 16 23 21 — 75
Big Sky 31 31 25 28 — 113
3-point goals — Treasure State 13 (Wagner 4, Lemelin 2, Turney 2, Ruink, Dye, Schalk, Ramales, Turk), Big Sky 9 (Peoples 2, Lee 2, Tempel 2, Stevens 2, McPartland).
Stewart left it all on the floor
As a sophomore, Brityn Stewart really opened some eyes in a loser-out game at the Western AA Divisional tournament in Kalispell.
Stewart, who emerged as a force for the Bulldogs during her first full season as a varsity player, scored 36 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 67-59 victory over Helena Capital.
That performance on March 3, 2023 accounted for the most points scored by a Butte High girl in a post-season game. It ranked only behind Lexie Nelson’s 39 points in a 2010 regular-season game against Billings Skyview.
She passed Butte Sports Hall of Famer Deanna Dugdale for No. 2 on the all-time Bulldog list.
Dugdale had her big game, scoring 35 against Columbia Falls in 1982.
Cadence Graham, by the way, tied Dugdale with 35 points in Saturday morning’s loser-out win over Billings Skyview at the Class AA State tournament in Bozeman.
Graham broke Butte High’s school record by hitting nine 3-pointers in that win. She did not play in the fourth quarter.
In her big game in 2023, Stewart made 11 of 15 shots from the field, including a 3-for-5 effort from 3-point land. She sank 11 of 12 free throws.
While her shooting percentage and point total form that day at the Flathead High School Gym is hard to top, Stewart’s performance in Saturday’s 62-58 loss to Missoula Big Sky in the third-place game was still one for the ages.
After the Bulldogs blew out Bozeman and Skyview to get to the third-place game, Butte High took on the Eagles for the third-place trophy. The game was played right before the boys’ championship game.
Stewart scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. She was also credited two steals while leaving everything on the floor to lead Butte High’s defensive effort.
Of those 23 points, Stewart scored 17 in the second half as Butte High nearly pulled off a miracle comeback.
Stewart averaged more than 13 points per game in all three seasons she played varsity for the Bulldogs. She was also the vocal leader of the team, usually delivering pregame talks to her teammates.
Stewart was one of four seniors the Bulldogs will lose from the team that posted a 16-8 record. The Bulldogs will also have to replace Dylann Bartoletti, Addie Hiatt and Sidney Whitaker. That will be no easy task for Butte High coach Bryan Arntson, but the Bulldogs appear to have a lot of young talent coming back.
Graham dials in from deep
Unfortunately, an official stat sheet was never made available online for Butte High’s 76-52 win over Billings Skyview Saturday morning. That game was played at the Gallatin gym.
In that game, Graham sank nine 3-pointers in a legendary 35-point performance that did not include a single point in the fourth quarter.
She broke the girls’ school record of seven shared by Hattie Thatcher (2013), Mariah Richardson (2014) and McCaul Ori (2015). Graham was already one of three Bulldogs to sink six 3-poiners in a game, joining Sonja Rogers (2003) and Brianne McClafferty (2008).
Rodgers, who transferred to Lewistown following her sophomore season of 2002-03, broke a record of five shared by Dani Svejkowsky (1991 and 1992) and Gayle Clark (1993). Rodgers was 6 for 6 from 3-point range that night against Missoula Sentinel at the Richardson Gym.
The list of Bulldogs with five 3-pointers grew after Rodgers erased that as the record. That includes Shelby Rosa (2006), Nelson (2010), Natalee Faupel (2013), Ori (twice in 2015), Ally Cleverly (2019) Brittney Tierney (2019) and Makenna Carpenter (twice in 2020).
While only one Butte team advanced to a state tournament, the 2024-25 season will long be remembered as one that sent journalists scrambling for the record books.
That is in large part to Graham, Butte High boys Torre Tempel, Tocher Lee and Hudson Luedtke and Butte Central boys Owen McPartland and Joshua Sutton.
No time to rest
Our athletes do not get much — if any — time to rest before jumping into the spring season.
Less than a week after the basketball season ended, Butte High will be in action in softball and baseball this week. Butte Central’s track team will also compete.
Of course, the spring schedule is always at the mercy of the weather, and most Butte High and Butte Central teams have not been able to practice outside yet.
The Bulldogs are scheduled to open the softball season Friday in Missoula. They will take on Billings West at 11 a.m. and Billings Senior at 1 p.m. Both games are non-conference.
Butte High is scheduled to play its first home games Tuesday when Gallatin comes to town for a doubleheader.
Butte High’s baseball team is set to take on Missoula Big Sky at 2 p.m. Friday in Missoula. The Bulldogs’ first home game is set for April 3 against Lone Peak.
Butte High’s tennis teams open March 28 in Missoula, while the Bulldog track team isn’t in action until it travels to Missoula on April 1.
Central’s track teams will compete in the Gene Hughes Invitational Saturday in Corvallis. BC will play its first softball games March 29 in Livingston. Central is set to open its home softball slate April 3 against Dillon.
In baseball, Central opens March 27 at home against East Helena. Central’s tennis teams begin next Tuesday in Livingston along with Dillon and Hardin.
Make sure to check the Butte High and Butte Central schedules often, though. They will likely change with the weather conditions.
Click here for the Butte High schedules and click here for the BC schedules.
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Whatever you do, don’t be like Jake
Over the decades watching basketball as a fan, writer and referee, I have heard a lot of really bad takes.
We all have.
We have seen fans run out onto the court after officials. We saw a fan threatened to fight every Butte High fan because he did not like a call that went against his son’s team — when his team was winning by more than 40 points.
Fans scream and yell at officials all the time, and it seems to get worse each season. They yell at coaches, opposing players and players on their son or daughter’s team. They even yell at the young students running the scoreboard at subvarsity games.
They say ignorant, hurtful things on social media.
Even worse, we have heard sexist, agist and racist comments spewed from the crowd during games.
None of those bad takes I have heard over the years, however, are more disturbing than the comment made by Jake Eaton, the campaign manager for Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte’s 2024 successful re-election bid, following the latest rounds of state basketball tournaments.
Blake Hempstead, who broadcasted Class B State tournament games for the NFHS Network in Missoula, posted a video on Twitter Saturday afternoon of fans from Lodge Grass rushing into Dahlberg Arena to get seats more than four hours before their boys played Missoula Loyola in the state championship game.
They stormed the gates like it was Black Friday and they really needed a new television.
I thought it was kind of touching to see that those fans care so much about their high school players. Watching the video brought a smile to my heart.
No fans are crazier about their teams than our Native fans in Montana. Their passion brings so much to every tournament in which their teams play, too.
I love attending a tournament when Browning, Harden, Lodge Grass, Ronan, Heart Butte, Lame Deer, Box Elder or any other team from a reservation is there. Sure, they might give the referees hell, but the teams bring an exciting brand of basketball, and their fans bring unmatched enthusiasm.
Host cities also feel a great economic boom when the Native fan bases bring almost the entire town to a tournament. Those Native fans travel in big groups, and they spend their money.
Believe it or not, supporting the student-athletes of a community like that is a good thing, even if some fans might get a little out of hand when it comes to yelling at officials.
Blake’s post drew overwhelmingly positive support from basketball fans who checked in with Anaconda’s town crier during what might be the best sports weekend of the year.
When Eaton saw what Blake posted while looking through Twitter at 3:30 a.m. Sunday, though, he had a very different take.
“Just imagine if they were this passionate about the quality of the education the kids are receiving,” Eaton posted.
When he was accused of being racist for his post about Native American fans, Eaton was puzzled.
“How’s that racist?” he said. “The epidemic of placing a higher value on sports than education doesn’t have anything to do with race.”
To be fair, I’m sure he curses as Duke University all the time about the importance that university places on Blue Devil basketball.
Just kidding. There’s no way he does that.
Eaton, who was clearly the kid always picked last when selecting teams at recess, doubled down on his posted with a usnews.com link that stated that test results at Lodge Grass Schools showed that just 3 percent of the students scored at or above the proficiency level for math or reading.
I have no idea what playing basketball and being passionate about those who play basketball have to do with that. Does cheering on basketball teams mean you do not want a quality education for your children?
Hmmm.
Partaking in sports is actually a very good thing for students. Statistics show over and over that students who participate in extracurricular activities do better in school. Being on a team helps improve work habits and focus.
While many went after Eaton on Twitter, accusing him of being racist, among other things, I will not make those same accusations — even though he seems to associate himself with some groups that seem to have trouble bending their knees when they march.
I will give him the benefit of the doubt.
As far as I know, Eaton is a guy with a lot of inherited wealth and a keen entrepreneurial eye. He is a veteran who is smart and passionate about his beliefs, and he puts his money and his time behind his words.
Unfortunately, he comes across as angry and rude when dealing with people who do not agree with him on social media. I saw that first hand when he attacked me late last year for pointing out that Gov. Gianforte, a self-proclaimed Christian, booted more than 30,000 poor kids off of Health Montana Kids insurance.
Now, we are all for government efficiency, and nobody wants people who do not qualify to be on the Medicaid rolls. But the vast majority of these kids were booted because of administrative reasons, not financial reasons.
Medicaid recipients received letters from an out-of-state company telling them they would be kicked off if they did not hop through so many hoops. Then they would hop and hop and send in every document requested.
That would follow with a letter stating that they did not send in the proper documents, so their coverage has ended. That happened even when they sent in the proper documents.
This all came after Gianforte’s administration gutted the Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services. So, many of the people wrongly kicked off Medicaid did not have anybody to help them get back on.
The DPHH staff that was left was overwhelmed, and people reported waiting on hold on the telephone for 8 hours only to be hung up on.
As a result, we have a lot of poor people without health insurance. We have poor children without health insurance.
Eaton said this weed out that devastated so many families worked exactly as intended. He said that was a good thing. Then he insulted me personally and professionally.
The sad thing, though, is not that Eaton is coming off as a racist jerk. That is his cross to bear.
What is really sad is that Eaton is a man with power and influence. He is in position to help the people of Lodge Grass. He could use some of Gov. Gianforte’s many slush funds to try give a hand up to the many Native schools that have been playing against a stacked deck from the very start.
Instead of giving them the finger and punching down at them for loving their basketball teams, he could use his power to improve the public education in the town that is almost 100 percent minority.
He could show that his beef with public education is not only about the rich kids.
Eaton has spent years helping elect politicians who want to gut public education. He has helped funnel money away from public education in an effort to give it to private schools.
He has helped politicians stack the deck against all the public schools, particularly the ones on reservations.
That Eaton even has the nerve to comment on the quality of the public education that he has worked tirelessly to eliminate is hard to even begin to fathom.
His dumping on kids whose education is subpar, according to test results, is like Hurricane Katrina blaming her victims for getting in the way.
Lodge Grass fans supporting their basketball team is not perpetuating the problem in this case. Eaton is.
Those Lodge Grass fans who showed so much enthusiasm for their team should be celebrated, not publicly shamed.
And Gov. Gianforte should stop associating with people who use our passionate Native basketball fans as political punching bags.
— Bill Foley, who was usually picked somewhere in the middle when picking teams for recess, can be reached at foles74@gmail.com. Follow him at twitter.com/Foles74 or Bluesky at @foles74.bsky.social. Listen to him on the ButteCast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
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Coaching staffs announced for Southwest Montana All-Star Games
The coaching staffs for Tuesday’s Southwest Montana High School All-Star Basketball Classic were announced Monday.
Montana Tech’s HPER Complex will set the scene, and the event will be will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a girls’ game. The boy’s game will follow at 7.
Each game will feature the top 24 boys’ and girls players’ from Southwest Montana high schools.
The night will also feature bands from Butte Central and Jefferson High and cheerleaders from Butte High, Butte Central and Jefferson High School. Halftimes will include 3-point contests and performances by the Dynamic Dance and Tumbling Academy.
Tickets for the games will be available all day at the Butte Chamber of Commerce, 1000 George Street and on the day of the game at the Montana Tech HYPER Complex starting at 5 p.m.
The coaching staff for the game will be as follows:
Big Sky Girls Team — Vince Turk and Frank Williams Twin Bridges
Treasure State Girls — Tristan Clark and Tristan Smith Powell County H.S.
Big Sky Boys — Paeton Ohs & Weston Comfort Powel County H.S.
Treasure State Boys — Tristan Horn and Mike Grover Sheridan H.S.
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Leskovar Honda Athletes of the Week: Butte High girls’ basketball players
Butte High’s girls’ basketball players are this week’s Leskovar Honda Athletes of the Week.
The honor comes after the Bulldogs placed fourth at the Class AA State basketball tournament at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman. After falling to eventual state champion Gallatin in the opener, the Bulldogs bounced back with loser-out routes of Bozeman and 2024 champion Billings Skyview.
In the third-place game, the Bulldogs nearly pulled off a miraculous comeback against Missoula Big Sky. Butte brought a 17-point deficit with less than 3-minutes left to play back to a 3-point game in the final seconds.
In Bozeman, Butte High won its first State tournament game since 2013. Then the Bulldogs won two State tournament games for the first time since 2009. At 16-8, Butte High posted its best record since a 16-7 campaign in 2019.
The varsity/JV roster includes seniors Dylann Bartoletti, Sidney Whitaker, Brityn Stewart and Addie Hiatt; juniors Ally Godbout, Franki Salusso, Gracie Jonart and Emma Johnson; sophomores Cadence Graham, Autumn Clary, Brittyn Klima, Allie Becker, Avery Barsness, Ellie Yates, Reese Johnson, Kate DeShaw and Kendallyn Schad; freshman Stella Callaghan; and eighth graders Saege Grey and Ellison Graham.
Bryan Arntson is the head coach. He is assisted by Megan Graham, Levi Dawes, Courtney Schad and Eddy Stewart. The managers are Sitota Graff, Courtlyn Wilson and Kyra Sullivan.
For the third year, Leskovar Honda, home of the 20-year, 200,000-mile warranty, is teaming up with the ButteCast to honor the finest student-athletes from the Mining City in an effort to encourage more children to get up, get out and try all kinds of sports and activities.
Team photo courtesy of Alycia Holland Photography
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KC basketball schedule
Following is the Knights of Columbus Athletic Club’s four-man basketball schedule for the week of March 17.
There will be no games on Monday this week, so most teams will only play one game. Teams can still sign up for the Spring League, which runs 10 weeks and features a season-ending tournament. Cost is $125 per team, and teams can sign up at the bar or by contacting Dan Boyle at (406) 491-2529.
Tuesday
7 p.m. — Someday Starters vs. JellyfamWednesday
6 p.m. — Crib Crew vs. Hertz
7 p.m. — Cook vs. Jellyfam
8 p.m. — Washington Generals vs. Rosary RattlersThursday
7 p.m. — Someday Starters vs. Poi Time
8 p.m. — Parish vs. ButteSports
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Bulldog comeback falls just short
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.)
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Cadence Graham breaks 3-point record as Bulldogs rout Falcons
BOZEMAN — KBOW radio announcer Ron Davis called it the “Cadence Graham Show.”
That sounds about right.
The performance put on by the Butte High sophomore Saturday morning was definitely prime-time material. Graham broke the Butte High girls’ 3-point record with nine long balls on her way to 35 points at Gallatin High School. That led the Bulldogs to a 76-52 rout of 2024 Class AA State champion Billings Skyview.
The win sends Butte High to the 5 p.m. third-place game at the Brick Breeden Field House. The Dogs will take on Missoula Big Sky for the trophy. The Eagles beat Missoula Hellgate 65-43 in the other 10:30 a.m. loser-out game at the Brick.
Graham’s nine 3-pointers broke the record of seven that was shared by Hattie Thatcher (2013), Mariah Richardson (2014) and McKaul Ori (2015). Sonja Rogers (2003) and Brianne McClafferty (2008) each sank six 3 pointers in a game.
Graham also matched Torre Tempel’s boys’ record of nine treys in a game. He set that mark this season against Helena High at the Richardson Gym.
The 35 points ties Graham with Butte Sports Hall of Famer Deanna Dugdale for third place on Butte High’s girls’ all-time single-game list. Lexie Nelson set the record with 39 points in 2010. Bulldog teammate Brityn Stewart, now a senior, scored 36 in a Western AA Divisional game in 2023.
Graham did not score a point in the fourth quarter. She scored 23 points in the first half before draining four 3-pointers in the third.
Butte High will roll into the third-place game having outscored its last two opponents by a combine 48 points.
On Saturday morning, the Bulldogs did not trail. They scored the first seven points of the game and never looked back. Butte led 17-9 after the first quarter, 32-22 at the half and 62-30 after three quarters.
Stewart added 14 points for the Bulldogs, who saw 10 different players score as Butte improved to 16-7 on the season. Eighth grader Ellison Graham and junior Franki Salusso each scored six points, while senior Dylann Bartoletti joined junior Emma Johnson and sophomores Allie Becker and Autumn Clary with three points. Senior Sidney Whitaker scored two, and eighth grader Saege Grey tossed in one. Junior Gracie Jonart also contributed in the win.
Rae Smart scored 17 for the Falcons, who close the season at 13-10. Skyview reached the semifinals before falling 38-37 to 20-1 Billings West.
Butte High dropped both regular-season games to Big Sky this season. Butte fell 58-55 in overtime Jan. 24 at the Butte Civic Center. The Eagles won 43-35 Feb. 21 in Missoula.
Butte High is hunting its first trophy since the Bulldogs placed second in 2008 and 2009.
BILLINGS SKYVIEW (13-10) —Tenley Ceffler 1 0-0 3, Rae Smart 6 5-11 17, Taryn Slveson 1 2-4 5, Kenna Pfiefle 0 0-0 0, Rylee Maccher 2 204 4, Kiki Canebear 1 4-4 7, Mylie Reiter 4 0-0 8, Kailey Stewart 0 0-0 0, Olivia Field 0 0-0 0, Ellie Wlocott 2 0-0 6. Totals 17 13-23 52.
BUTTE HIGH (16-7) — Dylann Bartoletti 1 102 3, Cadence Graham 11 4-4 35, Brityn Stewart 6 2-2 14, Franki Salusso 1 4-4 6, Allie Becker 1 0-0 3, Emma Johnson 1 0-0 3, Ellison Graham 1 3-3 6, Sidney Whitaker 0 2-4 2, Autumn Clary 0 3-4 3, Gracie Jonart 0 0-0 0, Saege Grey 0 1-2 1. Totals 22 20-27 76.
Skyview 9 13 8 22 — 52
Butte 17 22 23 14 — 76
3-point goals — Skyview 5 (Wolcott 2, Ceffler, Salveson, Conebear), Butte 13 (C. Graham 9, E. Grham, Becker, Johnson). Fouls — Skyview 20, Butte 16. Fouled out — Ceffler.Photo of Graham courtesy of Alycia Holland Photography.
The ButteCast with Bill Foley 