Raymond Hoare
Student Sports Media
The Butler Grizzlies defeated Hutchinson 61-60 in the semifinal of the Region VI tournament on Monday, March 4.
The two teams faced off against each other back on Dec. 8, 2018, a 77-61 win for Hutchinson.
But this was a whole different story as this was playoff time for both the Grizzlies and the Blue Dragons.
As this highly anticipated match up tipped off, the Blue Dragons started hot as four of their five starters were perfect from three-point land. Hutchinson’s largest lead of the game at the end of the first quarter, up 26-13.
As the second quarter started, both teams remained scoreless for nearly three minutes until sophomore guard Taylor Birch made a shot three-point range, igniting the Grizzlies offense. As the offense increased, the defense matched as the Grizzlies would hold the Blue Dragons to six points in the second quarter and forcing the Blue Dragons to commit seven turnovers. The Grizzlies scored 19 points in that quarter, the game tied at 32 at halftime.
The story of the third quarter was back and forth, intense action. With a couple minutes remaining in the third, sophomore forward Awerona Ransom made a layup and an additional “and-one” free throw to cut the Blue Dragon’s lead to two points. Freshman guard Camille Downs would bring the Grizzlies back up by one with a three-pointer giving Butler their first lead since the 1:29 mark in the second quarter. The Blue Dragons scored two free throws to end the third quarter, leading 43-42.
The fourth quarter would be the determining factor of this back and forth contest. For most of the quarter, Butler contained the three-point shooting of Hutch, keeping a slight lead. With 1:47 remaining in the game, Hutchinson tied the game at 56 thanks to a layup by freshman guard Abby Ogle. The next four Blue Dragon points came from Ogle as well, these all from the free-throw line.
Sophomore forward Kyla Callins returned a lay-up, cutting the game to a two-point game. After a forced turnover, sophomore guard Jalise Smallwood stepped up for two important free throws to tie the game at 60. With 21 seconds remaining sophomore forward Deztinee Gooden stepped up on defense, stealing the ball with eight seconds left.
After a Butler timeout, Smallwood started the play from the point, driving in the paint for a last shot attempt, drawing a foul in the process, just 0.6 seconds remaining in regulation. Smallwood missed the first attempt but assured her teammates the game was not over.
“I got one more,” Smallwood said to her teammates after missing the first free throw. “Don’t worry about it.”
There was no doubt on the second shot. Smallwood sank this one, putting all the pressure on the Hutchinson offense, which had been unsteady since the first quarter.
After a timeout for Hutchinson, the Blue Dragons set up to inbound on their side of the court. The Butler defense held strong, tipping the ball away on the inbound pass, ending the game.
“We needed two defensive stops at the end of the game to have a chance to win and we got both,” Head Coach Mike Helmer said.
Offensively Butler was led by Callins who had 15 points. Emotionally thought, Smallwood was instrumental in keeping Butler’s spirits high.
“I kept telling my teammates, believe y’all, we got this… we just got to believe and have heart,” Smallwood said.
The Grizzlies finished their defeat of rival Hutchinson thanks to important calls at the end of the game, the Smallwood free-throw proving the most important.
The 61-60 win assured Butler a spot in the Region VI Championship game against No. 2 Seward County on Wednesday, March 6 at 5 p.m. in Park City at Hartman Arena. Butler defeated Seward in the only other matchup of the season, a 65-54 win at home for Butler.