The Leeton Bulldogs stepped into the Bears Den on Friday Night for the Bears Courtwarming contest. The Bears were looking to get closer to a .500 record as they were 8-10 coming into the night. 

The Lady Bears won the tip and went on an opening 5-0 run to jump out to an early lead over the Lady Bulldogs. Parsons of Leeton would silence the Butler run by hitting a 3 that would be followed up by another basket for the Bulldogs to tie all scores up at 5-5 with 4:45 left in the opening period. The score would sit at 5-5 for a few minutes as both offenses grew stagnate until Haven Humphrey would hit a floater for the Bears and push the Butler lead 7-5. The Lady Bears would end the quarter with a 10-7 lead over the Bulldogs. 

Carmichael opened up the scoring in the second with a 3 pointer which would spark a 2nd quarter run for Butler. Mudd would finally stop the bleeding for the Bulldogs and end the Bears run with a 3 of her own, but immediately following, Carmichael would answer with her 2nd 3 pointer of the period. The Bears led 18-12 after one half of play. 

The Bears opened the second half with a put-back bucket off the hands of Haven Humphrey that stretched the Bear lead to 20-12. The Bulldogs would start to roar back and close in on the Bears. The Lady Bulldogs would only be trailing 5 with a score of 30-25 going into the 4th and final quarter of play. 

To open the final round, both teams would trade scores until Parsons would hit a 3 to start a run for the Bulldogs. The Bears would finally answer, but Mudd would hit a corner 3 to tie the game at 34 a piece with right around 3 minutes to go in regulation. Shaffer would follow up Mudd’s 3 with a traditional 3-point play of her own that would see the Lady Bulldogs claim a 37-34 lead with 2 and a half minutes left on the clock. Parsons would then burry yet another 3 to stretch the lead even more to 40-34. Dubray would be the Bear that would finally answer, scoring off of a transition bucket and cutting the lead to 40-36. Shaffer would then miss 2 shots at the charity stripe which led to Clover hitting a transition lay-up for the Bears to make it a one possession ball game at 40-38 with 1 minute remaining. 

In the final minute of play, Parsons would go to the line for Leeton with a chance to make it a 2 possession game, but the Bears would catch a break with Parsons going 0-2 and Humphrey securing the board. With 25 seconds to go, Dubray went to the line with a chance to tie the game, she would miss the pair but Carmichael grabbed the rebound and Tourtillot was sent to the line for the Bears. She would be unable to convert either, but the Bears would yet again have a chance from the stripe, this time with Dubray would toe the line. She would have 2 shots with the Bears trailing by 2, she would go 1-2 and the Bears would end up falling to the Lady Bulldogs with a final of 39-40. 

The Bears went 5 of 22 from the free throw line on the night. 

Carmichael led the Bears in scoring with 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists, followed by Cloey Fritts who would add in 10 points and 5 boards while Kylee had 17 rebounds and 6 points and Humphrey recorded 11 boards as well. 

After a break for courtwarming festivities, the men would tip-off next against the Leeton Bulldogs. 

Senior Dylan Davidson would jump center for the Bears and secure the first possession for Butler. Trumbore would find Davidson under the basket to trigger the scoring in the game. The Bears began the quarter with defensive pressure that would immediately force a Bulldogs turnover. The Bulldogs however would answer back, flushing a three. Carter would sink a deep ball of his own before Johnson of Leeton would hammer one in to give the Bulldogs an early 9-5 lead. Trumbore would drive to the rack to put an end to a 6-0 Bulldogs run. Another forced turnover by the Bears would lead to a strong inside basket from Davidson and see the Bears reclaim a 10-9 advantage before the Bulldogs would answer. Davidson would continue to dominate in the interior for the Bears and again take a 12-11 lead in what was shaping up to be a back-and-forth contest. The basket exchange would continue and the Bulldogs would lead 15-14 after the first 8 minutes. 

Leeton initiated the scoring in the 2nd. Trumbore would then spark a run with a drive to the basket for 2 followed by a gorgeous euro-step bucket by Brandon Hammett for a quick 4-0 run for the Bears. Leeton, assisted by a few silly Bear turnovers, would answer with a 9-0 run of their own. Davidson once again would quiet the noise with another strong post finish preceding a 3 ball by Trumbore that would cut it back to a single possession game at 26-23 in favor of the Bulldogs. Jake Chandler would knot the game up with a put back with 1 minute to go in the first half. At the end of the half, Trumbore would hit a floater to take a 28-26 lead into the break. 

To start the half, Mallatt hit a bucket to spark a 4-0 opening run before the Bulldogs would sink yet another 3 pointer. Both teams would proceed to swap scores for the majority of the 3rd quarter. 

Bears held a double-digit lead entering the final quarter, sitting atop the Bulldogs with a score of 41-31. After the first 2 and a half minutes went by with no scoring, Uptergrove would open up the baskets with a 3 to shrink the Bears lead back to 7. But the Bears would finish strong and walk away with a 54-46 victory. 

Carter Trumbore led all scoring on the night with 29 points and 5 rebounds while Davison secured a double-double with 14 scores and 11 boards. Jake Chandler also had an impressive night recording 7 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals. 

The Bulldogs were led by Uptergrove with 20 points.

Photos curtesy of MidAmerica Live