Second time in 2008 MCHS loses to Butler

By Justin McGill
Tribune-Courier Managing Editor
jmcgill@tribunecourier.com

BOWLING GREEN – Marshall County head coach Howard Beth summed up Wednesday’s loss to Louisville Butler very succinctly.

“We didn’t play very well, and they’re better than we are,” Beth said after the Lady Marshals lost 65-38 in the first round of the girls Sweet 16 at Western Kentucky’s E.A. Diddle Arena.

“They’re fundamentally sound and aggressive,” Beth said of Butler. “Their defense is super. It’s March, when you when games on defense, and they’re as good as I’ve seen play around here in a long time.”

That Bearette defense didn’t kick into high gear until midway through the first quarter, by which time the Lady Marshals had jumped out to a 7-3 lead on two baskets by senior Ashley Smith and a three-pointer by Jessica Holder. After that, however, Butler began forcing turnovers and turning them into fast-break points, and Ms. Kentucky candidate Tia Gibbs began contributing in every facet of the game.

“You’re not going to stop somebody like that,” Beth said of Gibbs, who scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, game-highs in each category.

MCHS trailed 15-9 after the first quarter and trimmed the gap back to four points to start the second frame on another basket by Smith, but Butler scored 17 of the next 20 points and led 32-14 at halftime.

“They had 11 assists at halftime and we had one,” Beth said. “That’s because we didn’t have anyone to pass to because they were all covered up.”
Despite the difficulties on the offensive end, Beth said he felt the Lady Marshal defense played well enough to keep them in the game.

“At halftime, we shouldn’t have been down quite that bad,” Beth said. “Turnovers were a big problem for us. That’s our fault, but then their pressure and off-the-ball defense is better than anyone we’ve seen. “When we pressed we caused some turnovers, but we never got into a flow where we felt like we could come down, score and get set on defense.”

Holder finished with 12 points, but the Lady Marshals had trouble finding her or low-post teammate Hannah Ellis (three points) in good scoring position because of Butler’s defense, Beth said.

“We knew it would be tough to score inside,” Beth said. “Their physicality made it tough to score inside, and our outside shots weren’t falling. We never got any rhythm, but I give Butler complete credit for that.”

“They play so tight and they have good hands,” Smith said. “They react fast. They’re jus all-around good, and it’s hard to play against someone that pressures you that much. It made us nervous.”

Holder said she and coaches talked about how tought Butler would be inside, but once the game started, the preparation wasn’t enough.

“If I make a mistake, I get down on myself real fast,” Holder said. “I’ve got to change that before next year.”

“I thought she was nervous before the game,” Beth said of Holder. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but you can talk about it all you want. It’s different when you get out there and they strip you a couple of times or you miss a shot off of something they did. The game is 80 percent psychological and 20 percent physiological.”

Beth said he couldn’t have been happier with how hard his team played against Butler, a team that defeated MCHS 60-26 Feb. 1 in the Louisville Invitational Tournament.
“It’s been a super year for us,” Beth said. “No one can fault our effort.”

Smith said it was an honor to represent the 1st Region in the Sweet 16, despite the outcome.

“We played our hearts out and lost, but I’d rather it have been us than Calloway,” Smith said. “Everybody doubted us, and we got off to a rocky start, but as the year progressed we got better. We earned it.”

Butler went on to win the state title after a 58-57 championship-game victory over Franklin-Simpson.

Louisville Butler 65,
Marshall County 38
Wednesday @ Bowling Green

Marshall County 9 5 7 17
Louisville Butler 15 17 19 14

TEAM STATS
Shooting
Overall: MC 31.1% (14/45)
LB 42.6% (26/61)
3-pointers: MC 33.3% (3/9) LB 27.8% (5/18)
Free throws: MC 63.6% (7/11)
LB 53.3% (8/15)

Turnovers MC 29
LB 15
Rebounds: MC 32 (Holder 9) LB 40 (Gibbs 14)
Assists: MC 5 (Ellis 2) LB 16 (Bates/Gibbs 4)
Blocks: MC 5 (Elliis 3)
LB 6 (Pile/Hopper 2)
Steals: MC 4 (Ellis 2)
LB 18 (Pile/Gibbs 4)
Fouls: MC 15
LB 13
Fouled out: MC - none
LB - none

INDIVIDUAL STATS
MC: Gilland 0-1 0; Tabor 1-7 (1-6) 3; Thomas 2-4 2; Hall 1-1 (1-1) 3; Ellis 1-3 (1-4) 3; Fisk 0-4 0; Lawson 1-1 2; Holder 4-16 (1-2) 3-4 12; Bohannon 0-0 2-2 2; Smith 4-8 1-1 9

LB: Wheat 2-5 (0-3) 1-2 5; Pile 3-7 (1-3) 7; Snyder 0-1 0; Harris 3-6 (1-2) 7; Bates 0-5 (0-1) 3-4 3; Gibbs 9-15 (3-5) 21; Hopper 5-12 3-6 13; Dooglett 0-2 (0-2) 0; Cureton 1-4 (0-2) 2; Reed 3-4 1-2 7