Butternut Grinds Out One-Point Win at South Shore

Butternut made the long trip to South Shore on Friday to make up a game postponed the night before, and once again the Midgets found themselves in a familiar position — a close, low-scoring battle that came down to the final moments.

True to form, Butternut controlled the tempo from the opening tip, “taking the air out of the ball” and completely shutting down South Shore’s transition game. The Cardinals were held scoreless on fast breaks for the entire night, setting the tone for a grind-it-out contest.

The Midgets jumped out early, building a 13-4 lead behind the hot shooting of Caitlynn BeBeau, who knocked down three long-range jumpers to spark the offense. After the strong start, however, baskets became hard to come by. Butternut went cold for nearly nine minutes, allowing South Shore to slowly chip away before eventually taking a 19-13 lead late in the first half. The Midgets answered with a timely 6-0 run to close the half, sending the teams into the locker room tied at 19.

Butternut came out of halftime more efficient offensively, patiently working their sets to build a 33-25 lead with about 11 minutes remaining. Just as it appeared the Midgets might be pulling away, an injury and foul trouble forced them deep into their bench.

In the closing minutes, Brooklynn Treml rose to the occasion. She controlled the glass, altered shots defensively, and came up with a clutch put-back basket late to seal a hard-fought 36-35 victory.

“South Shore is always a tough place to play at,” said Coach Scherwinski. “You take a win any time you can get it there.”

Treml led the Midgets with an outstanding all-around performance, finishing with 10 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 blocked shots. Gianna Nahring added 9 points and 11 rebounds, Lizzie Pritzl chipped in 7 points, and BeBeau finished with 6 points and 12 rebounds. Sophie Truchon led all scorers with 16 points for the Cardinals.

With the loss, South Shore falls to 3-2 in conference play and 5-3 overall. Butternut improves to 3-1 in the conference and 3-3 on the season. The Midgets will be off until December 30, when they travel to Chequamegon for a 4:15 p.m. tip.