Butler girls basketball tops PRP, will face Bullitt East for Sixth Region championship
The Butler girls basketball team made its first Sixth Region title-game appearance since 2021 after defeating Pleasure Ridge Park in a semifinal Thursday night.
The 14th-ranked Bearettes (25-8) will see a familiar foe in the final: Bullitt East. The last time the teams played for the title in 2021, the Chargers won, 48-45.
“I have so much respect for Chris Stallings,” Butler coach Candyce Wheeler said of Bullitt East’s coach. “I’ve known him for a while. Even when I was at Bellarmine, we recruited a lot of his girls. He’s done a good job of getting them to play really good basketball since the district. They’ve been here before, and that’s what we’re trying to get to.”
Ramiya White scored 17 points for Butler in its 60-38 semifinal victory against PRP, which was led by Jeannae Bolin (13 points). The Bearettes now have won six consecutive games. They led by as many as 22 points in a wire-to-wire win over the Panthers (18-13).
Since the Bearettes’ loss against Manual on Feb. 13, Wheeler said Butler turned its focus toward the Sixth Region Tournament.
“Bullitt East plays hard, so we’re going to have to come and play harder,” White said. “We’ve already beaten them twice, be aggressive, hit shots, rebound actually. Just win.”
Bullitt East has played in every Sixth Region title game this decade, winning three straight titles from 2020-2022.
BUTLER 9 15 17 19 – 60
PRP 6 8 14 10 – 38
Butler (25-8) – Ramiya White 17, Keziah Bradley 12, Malia Patrick 11, Mariah Knight 10, Anieja Russell 6, Emaree Gober 4.
PRP (18-13) – Jeannae Bolin 13, Marryah Carr 10, Alyssa Fox 7, Tateonah Crawford 4, Taniya Weathers 4.
Bullitt East 52, North Bullitt 40
The Bullitt East girls basketball team had won its previous six games against North Bullitt.
The Chargers had to dig deep to win their seventh in a row against the Eagles.
Bullitt East broke open the game in the second half and defeated North Bullitt on Thursday night to earn a spot in the Sixth Region final.
“We played them earlier in the season, and we definitely didn’t give them our all,” senior Anna Rodgers said of North Bullitt. “I think tonight, in the fourth quarter, really showed them who Bullitt East is.”
The Chargers (20-14) advanced to the title game without guard Jada Hughes, a Campbellsville commit who is out for the season with an injury. Sophomore Mollie Johnston (14 points), Rodgers (12 points) and sophomore Anna Tinelli (nine points, four rebounds and four assists) paced Bullitt East.
Stallings praised Bullitt East for its resiliency as the team fought through adversity.
“It’s incredibly hard for any team to get to the finals of the region,” Stallings said. “They’ve really come together and stopped worrying about things out of (their) control.”
The Chargers led at halftime, 24-17. Early in the fourth quarter, Bullitt East went on a 10-2 run to pull away.
The Eagles (14-20) were led by sophomore Kylie Downey, who scored 15 points.
BULLITT EAST 10 14 10 18 – 52
NORTH BULLITT 6 11 13 10 – 40
Bullitt East (20-14) – Mollie Johnston 14, Anna Rodgers 12, Anna Tinelli 9, Kylie Huber 6, Carli Bryant 5, Mallory Pierce 4, Lyla Packer 2.
North Bullitt (14-20) – Kylie Downey 15, Emily James 10, Addison Soutar 6, Taylor McKnight 5, Taylor Bauer 2, Mahijah Fall 2.
More: Manual basketball receives boost from London Sweeney in Seventh Region semifinal victory
Reach sports reporter Brooks Warren at bwarren@gannett.com and follow him on X at @Broookksss.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: KHSAA basketball: Butler, Bullitt East reach Sixth Region title game
