The Butler High School Lady Bulldogs basketball team just handed the Independence girls their worst defeat of the season.  The Lady Patriots are now 6-8 on the season, and 2-2 in the Southwest 4-A Conference.

In the first period during the initial 4 minutes into the game the Lady Bulldogs trailed 6-5.  After a timeout called by the Butler coach, the team went on a 21-0 run and never looked back.  After one period of play the Lady Bulldogs had a 20 point advantage at the Dawg Pound with a 26-6 advantage.

In the second period the Butler girls outscored Independence 20-13 primarily on fast breaks and steals for easy lay-ups by their back court guards.  Butler would take a commanding 46-19 lead into the intermission at halftime.

The third period was pretty much the same, Butler out hustled, out rebounded, and simply kept hitting their shots.  They had 4 players scoring in double figures and shot 54% from the floor.  The Lady Bulldogs blew out the Lady Patriots in the third period 28-6, and this game was all but over.

The Lady Patriots had two players in double figures senior Sharonda Smith 12 points, Ayanna Anderson with 10.  The teams leading scorer sophomore Braylan Milton, suffered her worst game of the season with just 3 points, shooting 1-8 from the field or 13% for the game.  Milton missed all 5 three point shots, she was rushed and pressured by the Butler defense.  Milton did play well outside of shooting making a contribution by grabbing 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and had 1 blocked shot.   However, without her usual 15 points per game, the Lady Patriots chance of staying competitive was completely nullified by the aggressive Butler defense.  Independence shot a dismal 22% for the game.

For the Lady Bulldogs, Michela Funderburk lead all scorers with 18 points, Payton Smith 16, Haley Nance 13, Michela Lane 11, and Michela Dotson 9.  The Lady Bulldogs will now take their 12-1 record, 4-0 in the conference to Hickory Ridge, 11-1 overall, 4-0 in conference which in this writers opinion is a clash between the two best teams in the Southwest 4-A Conference.

Meanwhile, the Lady Patriots will play Garinger High School on Friday night in an away conference game.  They are expected to bring home a conference win.