Cadence Graham was simply golden.  The 8th-grade reserve showed the poise of a four-year letterman by draining a three-pointer from the right corner with 3.5 seconds to play, leading the Butte High Bulldogs a 51-50 win over the Helena High Bengals Tuesday night at Ross J. Richardson Memorial Gymnasium.  And what a win it was.

Cadence Graham's game-winner Tuesday night against Helena. Photo: Tommy O/ Townsquare Media
Cadence Graham's game-winner Tuesday night against Helena. Photo: Tommy O/ Townsquare Media
loading...

The Bulldogs came out of the gate by hitting 4 straight free throws followed by a nifty pass from Brooke Groesbeck to Laura Rosenleaf for an easy layup and a 6-0 lead.  The Bulldogs would seemingly have an answer to Helena's aggressive full-court trap and would lead 10-5 after 1 and 25-16 at the end of the first half.  This may have been their most complete first half of the season.  Helena would chip away in the third and coupled with Butte High's 5 -for-12 performance from the free throw line in the period, would gain some momentum heading into the fourth quarter, trailing 38-33.  Junior guard Ashley Koenig would ride that momentum, hitting a three-pointer 15 seconds into the period.  The Bengals persistent trap would finally force the turnovers they were seeking, and Senior forward Alex Bullock would start hitting from the outside and Helena would get their first lead of the game 39-38 and extend to a five-point lead with three minutes to play.  Enter Cadence Graham.  She would feed sophomore guard Dylann Bartoletti for a bucket at the 2:45 mark and senior forward Laura Rosenleaf would hit a pair of free throws and score off a nice pass from senior Emmarie Richards to cut the Bengals lead to 1 with 30 seconds to play.  Richards would foul junior guard Logan Todorovich who would miss her second free throw and the Bulldogs would get the rebound.  After a timeout with 11.6 seconds, Richards would find a wide-open Graham in the right corner for the game winner.

With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 5-12 overall with a 3-10 mark in the Western AA.  The will wrap up their season on the road Saturday at Helena Capital.

Five Most Stolen Cars in Montana in 2022

Even thieves have preferences. Here is a list of the five most-stolen cars in Montana so far in 2022 according to usinsuranceagents.com

What You Need in Your Montana Winter Road Survival Kit

Winter on Montana's roads, highways and interstates is the most dangerous time of the year. Here is what you should always keep in your vehicle in case something goes wrong.

5 School Lunch menu items from the 70s and 80s we wish we could find as adults