With one tournament championship already on their season resume, the Lady Bears set out to conquer the Butler Tournament. Butler drew Raytown in round 1 of the tournament.
The Lady Blue Jays won the opening tip, however the Bears defensive intensity was set to maximum to start the contest, and the Bears held Raytown scoreless their first few possessions. The Butler intensity forced the Raytown coaching staff to burn an early timeout just 2 minutes into the ball-game. Out of the time out, the Bears continued to pressure the ball and turned the Lady Blue Jays over. After the Raytown turnover, Carmichael buried a triple to put the Bears up 7-0. To close out the quarter, Butler continued to smother the Blue Jays and lead the competition 15-5.
The second period began with some sloppy play from both schools, with a handful of turnovers and empty trips to the basket, however Hudson opened up the basket for Butler pushing their lead to 17-5. The Blue Jays went on a 5-0 run of their on, but then Carmichael hushed the Blue Jays bench with another shot from range (her second of the night) that sparked a Butler 7-0 run. The Lady Bears took a 13 point lead into the locker room with a halftime score of 28-15.
Raytown opened the second half with yet another turnover into the hands of the Lady Bears. Gabbie went to the stripe to launch the Butler scoring effort in the half. After yet another Raytown turnover, Kylee drove hard to rim and earned herself a trip to the free throw line as well, leading to a 30-16 Butler advantage with 6 and a half to play in the 3rd. Carmichael continued to be locked in from distance as she drained her 3rd triple of the contest and extended the Bears lead. For the remainder of the quarter the Lady Bears contented to play physical basketball, driving the lane, earning trips to the charity stripe and forcing a multitude of Raytown turnovers. It was all Bears after 3 with a 50-20 score.
There was not much to report during the 4th, as the Bears just continued to dominate with a running clock due to the extensive Bears lead. The Bears went on to claim a 56-35 win.
Kylee Dubray lead all scores with 17 points, Carmichael added 12, and McCoun also ended in double figures with 10 points.
The Lady Bears outplayed Raytown from start to finish and showed that came into the tournament with gold on their mind. Butler earned themselves a rematch against Appleton City in round two.
Photos by Erin Dubray
