Butternut Girls Advance

Butternut traveled to Drummond on Tuesday night for a Regional Quarter-Final matchup.

“We knew going in that Drummond was going to pressure the ball and try to speed us up,” Scherwinski said. “Our focus was handling their defensive intensity and valuing each possession.”

The Midgets came out a little tight offensively, missing a few early opportunities around the rim. Drummond capitalized, turning defensive stops into transition buckets to build an early first-quarter lead. Butternut settled in late in the period, getting quality looks by working the ball inside and attacking the paint.

“In the second quarter, I thought we did a much better job of moving without the basketball,” Scherwinski said. “When we reversed the ball and made the extra pass, good things happened.”

Butternut responded with a strong defensive stretch midway through the second quarter, forcing turnovers and limiting Drummond to one shot per possession. A key three-pointer late in the half cut the deficit to just a few points heading into the break.

Coming out of halftime, Butternut made adjustments to slow Drummond’s transition game. The Midgets emphasized getting back on defense and communicating through screens. The effort paid off as the game turned into a half-court battle.

“Our girls really locked in defensively in the third quarter,” Scherwinski said. “We talked about competing on every possession, and they answered.”

The 2nd half was tightly contested, with both teams trading baskets. Butternut showed composure at the free-throw line down the stretch and executed key sets in crunch time. A late defensive stop sealed the outcome in what Scherwinski described as “a total team effort.”

Butternut pulled away late to win 72-41.

“I’m proud of how we responded to adversity,” he said. “We didn’t always play perfectly, but we played together. That’s what you want to see this time of year.”

Butternut will continue tournament play Friday, hitting the road to take on the #4 Seed Wabeno/Laona.