The West Fork girls basketball team led by as many as 25 en route to third straight win to open the new year at North Butler. The North Butler boys basketball team broke free of a tie in the fourth quarter with a game sealing scoring run to earn their first win over West Fork since 2022. The Warhawk girls won 52-23 and Bearcat boys won 45-38 on Tuesday, as aired on 104.9 KLMJ.
In the girls game, West Fork brought full court pressure and timely double teams that forced the Bearcats into a scoreless first quarter, as the Warhawks led 15-0 early. The Warhawks extended their lead with a 13-5 scoring run in the second to go up 28-5 at the half. North Butler opened the third quarter on a 9-0 scoring run to get within 28-14 margin, from that point the Warhawks found their groove again responding with a 14-3 run to end the quarter up 42-17, and closed out the win in a low scoring fourth quarter.
West Fork Head Coach Rodney Huber on playing a complete game and 3-0 start to the new year.
“The way we play definitely wreaks some havoc and it’s tough for teams to adjust. We didn’t allow a basket until pretty late in the beginning of the game and I think five points for the first half. You can’t start much better than that,” says Huber. “We had a little lull there to start the third that we talked about and got to do a better job of coming out of halftime a little bit more ready to go. Otherwise a really complete game. Really haven’t missed a beat honestly, three games here, double digit wins. Leah’s doing really well so we might get her back into the fold here sooner than what we thought. The way the other girls are playing with confidence, we could be very scary down the stretch.”
Brylie Hubka led with 11 points for West Fork. Zoey Thompson led the Bearcats with 12 points.
In the boys game, West Fork took flight to the early advantage at 15-8 after one quarter. The Bearcats settled in on both ends of the floor to engineer a 19-5 scoring run in the second to flip the deficit into an advantage, leading 27-20 at the break. In a cold shooting third quarter, the Bearcats took their first double digit lead of the evening at 36-25. The Warhawks rekindled their fire to begin the fourth, with an 11-0 run to tie the game at 36-36 with 4:38 to go. The Bearcats got to the rim and the free throw line to answer with a 9-2 run in the final minutes to secure home win.
North Butler Head Coach Austin Guerrero on game sealing scoring run and teamwork of players in matchup.
“It was just us playing stronger with the basketball. We only made one field goal the entire fourth quarter. A lot of times when you see that, you’re probably not gonna come out on the winning end. It was our mindset, playing together as a team and understanding we got them high foul numbers. Ryan Austin did a great job of being strong down low, he was a force for us.,” says Guerrero. “That one was super exciting. Hats off to our kids, they really bought into our game plan. Tonight, that was probably the most complete game we’ve put together as one whole unit, as a team playing together.”
Ryan Austin led with 14 points for the Bearcats. Ashyr Wisman led the Warhawks with seven.
The North Butler girls (1-8, 1-5 TIC-East) will visit Northwood-Kensett on Tuesday, January 14. The North Butler boys (2-6, 2-4 TIC-East) will host Rockford on Friday. The West Fork girls (8-2, 4-1 TIC-East) and the Warhawk boys (3-5, 2-3 TIC-East) will host Nashua-Plainfield on Friday.
