Beech Tree News Network

The Butler County Lady Bears finshed the opening week of season with a bang on Thursday, December 4, with a 60-47 win at Russellville.  Senior guard Shawna West led the team with 25 points, while freshmen forward Maddy Murphy pitched in 15 points for the win. 

The Lady Bears opened up a 17-8 first-quarter lead.  Butler built on that lead in the second, outscoring the Lady Panthers 19-12 to take a 36-20 halftime advantage.  The third quarter was the best one for Russellville as they outscored Butler County 19-14.  The Lady Bears closed out the game strong in the fourth quarter to hold on for the 60-47 win. 

RHS    8     12     19     8         47
BC     17    19     14    10        60

Butler County (60):  West 25, Murphy 15, Hall 8, Easley 4, Cardwell 4, White 2, Ford 2. 

* * *
Earlier in the week, Butler County suffered two losses at the hands of Hancock County and Bowling Green, respectively. 
In their season opener at Hancock County, the Lady Bears hung with the Lady Hornets for the first quarter before a difficult second quarter created a 13-point halftime deficit for the visiting team.  Neither team scored much in the third quarter - six for Hancock and three for Butler County - but the Lady Hornets put the game away in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Lady Bears 22-6 en route to the 56-24 win. 
Shawna West was the lone Lady Bear in double figures with 10 points. 

BC     6    9    3    6        24
HC    10  18   6   22        56

Butler County (24):  West 10, Murphy 7, Cardwell 5, White 2. 

* * *
Butler County, on Tuesday, ran into a strong Bowling Green Lady Purple and came out on the wrong end of a lopsided score. 
Bowling Green raced to a 21-0 lead before sophomore forward Addison Hall got the Lady Bears on the board.  Butler County wasn't able to rally after the disatrous first quarter and fell 80-21. 

BG    26    21    12    21        80
BC     4     7       6     4         21

Butler County (21):  Hall 8, West 3, Inscoe 2, White 2, Ford 2, Cardwell 2, Easley 2. 

Reflecting on the first week of the season, first-year head coach Brian Bivens, overall, was upbeat about his team and the challenging start to the season. 

"We didn’t start off the way I would have liked in our first game at Hancock County, but the girls were competitive and we recognized some things that we needed to improve on immediately. Tuesday’s game against Bowling Green was a bit disheartening in that it didn’t end up being closer than it was because I felt as though the girls never backed down and never gave up," said Bivens.  "We finally did some really good things Thursday night at Russellville. At times, the ball movement up and down the floor is exactly what we needed. There were times when they tried to press us that the ball barely hit the floor and we were scoring. As a coach, that’s what you want to see. I’m extremely proud of the way the girls competed this week. Three games in the first week was a major task to start the season, and to end the week with a win gives us something to build on going into the next couple of weeks," added Bivens. 

* * *
Butler County (1-2) will be back in action on Tuesday, December 9, at Warren East - its only scheduled game next week.  

* * *

Story by John Embry, photos by Jeremy Hack, Beech Tree News.