Bailey helps Butler girls to 55-43 victory

Bailey helps Butler girls to 55-43 victory

BUTLER TWP — When point guard Caitlin Baxter went to the bench in foul trouble, Butler appeared to be in trouble.
Jasmine Bailey had other ideas.
The junior guard scored 16 of her game-high 23 points after Baxter committed her fourth foul early in the third quarter, helping the Golden Tornado to a 55-43 girls basketball win over Franklin Regional Monday night.
The teams combined to commit 53 turnovers and 53 personal fouls. Two players from each team fouled out.
But Butler (2-9) found a way to snap an eight-game losing streak.
“This was an ugly game, but we'll take it,” Butler coach Dorothea Epps said.
The lead changed hands seven times in the first half and the Tornado held a precarious 28-23 lead when Baxter committed her fourth foul with 5:52 left in the third period.
Instead of watching her team fall apart, Bailey took over.
“I felt like I had to,” she said. “We count on Cait for a lot of our scoring and ball handling. With her not in there ... it had to be me.”
Besides her 23 points, Bailey recorded 13 rebounds, four steals and three assists.
“She was all over the floor,” Epps said. “Jas attacked the basket, pounded the boards and brought the ball up the floor. She was clearly our leader out there.”
A 3-pointer by the Panthers' Natalie Alexander pulled the visitors within two points, but Bailey converted a layup off a fast break, canned a jumper and sank another layup after a steal.
Those three plays occurred in less than two minutes and gave Butler a 34-26 lead.
Bailey scored 10 points in the fourth quarter as the Tornado won going away.
Butler's 55 points marked a season high. MacKenzie O'Donnell contributed 15 points and eight rebounds, while Baxter had 12 points and six boards despite seeing limited action in the second half.
Ali Houk and Shelby Johnston came off the bench to grab seven and six rebounds, respectively, as Butler enjoyed a 47-36 advantage on the boards.
“I didn't care if they were 1-9. We knew we were in for a tough, physical game because Butler always plays defense that way,” Franklin Regional coach Rich Klimchock said. “They make you work for everything you get.”
Baylee Buleca's 10 points and nine rebounds paced the Panthers (6-5), who played without point guard Hanna Wagner (12 ppg.), who missed the game with an illness.
“What can you do? You play with who you've got,” Klimchock said. “We did a poor job of identifying their half-court trap at times. We always play a lot of girls because we press all the time.”
Epps knew that — and she watched her team win despite its 28 turnovers.
“We've been getting better the past few games,” she said. “We needed to be rewarded for the hard work and that finally happened tonight.”

FRANKLIN REGIONAL 43
Maggie Kimmich 1-8 4-6 6, Kristin Gallagher 0-4 0-3 0, Erin DiFalco 3-8 0-0 9, Baylee Buleca 3-5 4-8 10, Natalie Alexander 1-12 4-4 7, Hannah Bertolo 1-3 1-2 3, Sarah Begany 0-0 0-0 0, Kate Witten 0-2 1-2 1, Robyn Stanley 1-2 3-6 5, Allie Rogina 0-0 0-0 0, Mary Komandt 1-3 0-2 2, Kirstie Gildemeister 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 11-48 17-32 43.
BUTLER 55
Natalie Barkus 0-4 0-0 0, MacKenzie O'Donnell 4-10 7-13 15, Sam Marak 0-0 0-0 0, Jasmine Bailey 9-16 5-15 23, Emily Eyth 0-1 0-0 0, Shelby Johnston 0-2 0-0 0, Ali Houk 0-2 5-6 5, Caitlin Baxter 4-10 4-5 12. Totals: 17-44 21-40 55.
Franklin Regional 12 9 10 12—43
Butler 13 13 11 18—55
3-point goals: Franklin Regional 4 (DiFalco 3, Alexander); Butler 0.
Junior varsity: Franklin Regional, 45-32 (FR: Hannah Bertolo 14, B: Morgan McLaughlin 11)