Slammed Shut
Butler girls close out
Knoch in title game
December 29, 2017 High School Basketball
Butler
point guard Mia Rader drives against Knoch's Hannah Rowe during the
championship game of the Butler holiday tournament. The Golden Tornado topped
the Knights, 40-25.
NATE BLACK/ SPECIAL TO THE EAGLE
BUTLER TWP — Butler didn't just close the
door on Knoch, the Golden Tornado slammed it shut.
Holding a modest 28-24 lead after three
quarters of the championship game of the Butler Girls Basketball Christmas
Tournament, the Tornado completely dominated the final eight minutes.
Butler made its first nine attempts from the
free throw line in the period, out-rebounded the Knights 7-3 and didn't give up
a field goal in a 40-25 victory.
Tornado senior Jenna Kunst hit a 3-pointer
with 6:38 left in the game, pushing her team's lead to 31-24.
“I thought that was the biggest shot of the
game,” said Butler coach Mark Maier. “We're up four points and Jenna makes that
three to make it seven. That's tough to come back from.”
It was the fourth straight victory for
Butler (5-3) while Knoch (3-5) saw its 3-game winning streak snapped.
Knoch scored just a single point in the
fourth quarter — Emily Fraser's free throw moments after Kunst's trey.
Turnovers hurt the Knights, who attempted just five field goals in the period.
“Butler did a good job of picking up their
pressure on the ball and we did not react well to it,” said Knoch coach Chris
Andreassi.
Free throws helped the Tornado ice the game.
Alyssa Eyth was 4-of-4 in the fourth quarter, Kunst was 3-of-4 and Mia Rader
2-of-2.
“We're a good free-throw shooting team,”
Maier said. “Those can be killers, especially if you can make 'em both.”
The Knights' troubles began in earnest in
the third quarter. The team's offense slowed to a trickle with five turnovers
and just two made field goals.
“Our defense really picked things up,” said
Kunst. “We just had to wake up and that's when we kicked it in.”
Knoch proved to be the better team early,
allowing just five first-quarter points to Butler on 2-of-13 shooting. The
Tornado were just 1-of-10 from beyond the arc in that span.
“Knoch's 1-3-1 zone was effective and I
think we settled for some of those 3-pointers early,” said Maier.
The Knights began to struggle offensively in
the second quarter, but Fraser's trey with 10 seconds remaining in the first
half gave Knoch a 19-16 halftime edge.
“We came out tonight with good energy,”
Andreassi said. “We played good defense and moved the ball well offensively.”
Kunst led all scorers with 15 points, 13 in
the second half, and chipped in five rebounds and five steals.
Fraser scored 12 points for Knoch, 11 coming
in the first two quarters.
“She hurt us in the first half,” Maier said
of Fraser, a senior guard. “We didn't give her any open looks after that.”
Butler gets a break from game action and
won't play again until a section meeting at Shaler next Thursday.
“I hope we can take a lot of confidence from
this (winning streak),” Kunst said. “We all feel good about things right now
and just need to carry it into section play.”
Knoch hosts a non-section game against Shady
Side Academy on Tuesday before hosting section foe Freeport next Thursday.
Note: In Thursday's consolation game,
Indiana scored a 45-35 win over Allderdice.
KNOCH 25
Hannah Rowe 1 0-0 2, Kayla Grafton 1 0-0 2,
Gabby Fennell 1 0-0 3, Emily Fraser 4 1-2 12, Casey Kretzer 1 1-4 3, Skylar
Burkett 1 0-0 3, Anna Neff 0 0-0 0. Totals: 9 2-6 25.
BUTLER 40
Mia Rader 0 3-4 3, Alyssa Eyth 2 5-6 9,
Jordan Kauffman 1 0-0 3, Emma Monteleone 1 0-0 3, Jenna Kunst 5 3-4 15, Julia
Gibson 1 0-2 2, Emilee Altman 1 0-0 3, Heidi Gross 1 0-0 2, Nicole Pepmeyer 0
0-0 0, Morgan Gage 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12 11-16 40.
Knoch 10 9 5 1 — 25
Butler5 11 12 12 — 40
3-point goals: Knoch 5 (Fraser 3, Fennell,
Burkett); Butler 5 (Kunst 2, E. Altman, Monteleone, Kauffman).