HELENA — Butte High coach Maury Cook may have said it best after Capital High defeated the Bulldogs girls basketball team, 54-39, on Saturday:
"You can't score just one point in a quarter and expect to win a game in this league."
Cook was referring to host Capital's 15-1 lead over the Bulldogs after the opening period of the non-conference tilt.
And although he made a good point, from CHS coach Bill Pilgeram's perspective, it was that initial stanza that showed the potential of his hoopsters in the second game of the young season.
"Again, (like Friday), we showed glimpses of some good play," said Pilgeram, whose Lady Bruins improve to 2-0. "The first quarter was excellent, both offensively and defensively. Now we just have to build on those stretches -- work on making those stretches last longer."
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Junior post Taylor Sullivan led Capital with 12 points.
After the Bruins' hot start, the two teams played evenly Capital went into halftime leading 28-14.
After the intermission, Butte came back on the hosts a little bit, closing the gap to 28-18 and 30-20. But the 10-point difference would be as close as they'd get as CHS increased the margin to 15 by the end of the third, with Katie Culver's buzzer-beater making it 37-22 heading into the final quarter.
The two teams again battled heads-up over the last eight minutes. When Bruin Sydney Sheridan canned a pair of free throws to go up 40-26 early in the period, it turned out be the deciding points for the winners.
The Bruins extended the lead to 47-29, the 18 points the biggest cushion of the night, before Butte's Ally Cleverly drained back-to-back 3-points to get back to within 12 at 47-35. But CHS held on down the stretch, outscoring the Mining City crew 7-4 the rest of the way.
Cleverly tied Sullivan for game scoring honors, at 12 points.
Aryn Cummings added nine points and eight rebounds for Capital, while Sheridan had six points, four steals and two assists.
The Bruins outshot the Bulldogs in field goal percentage, 42-37, and had 10 turnovers to 16 for Butte.