McCracken Co. breezes past Butler 74-57, advances to Sweet 16 finals

The 2024 KHSAA Girls’ Basketball Sweet 16 Tournament has proved to be extremely competitive. In the first game of the semifinals on Saturday, two of the best teams in Kentucky faced off for a spot in the championship. Between McCracken County and Butler, Saturday’s matchup was a game of runs, but the Lady Mustangs came out on top.

From tipoff to the final buzzer, McCracken County Girls’ Basketball controlled the momentum of the game. After going up 10-0 to start the first quarter, it seemed like the Lady Mustangs were going to run away with this one. Despite having Kentucky WBB commit Ramiya White on its side, Butler wasn’t able to come within eight points for the majority of the first half.

At the break, McCracken County led Butler 35-28, with two of its players in double-digits: Claire Johnson (18) and Mikee Buchanan (14). In fact, they were two of only four Lady Mustangs to score in the first half. The only other Mustangs to score were Reagan Hill (2) and LeZharia Bolen (1).

For the remainder of the game, McCracken County was in control. While Butler started to pick it up, it was no use for the likes of Samford commit Claire Johnson (39) and Mikee Buchanan (25). The seniors combined for a total of 64 of their team’s 74 points and grabbed three and 10 rebounds, respectively. The Mustangs finished a combined 24-47 (51.1%) shooting from the field and 8-17 (47.1%) from three. Plus, McCracken County scored 24 points off of Butler’s 18 turnovers. They also outrebounded the Bearettes 30-24.

“These kids deserve it, she [Claire Johnson] deserves it,” McCracken County head coach Scott Sivills, Jr. said regarding his team’s win. “These are 18-year-old kids. There’s one game left, we’ll give it our best and see what happens. We came to fight, compete, to win, and advance.”

“We have to leave it all on the floor, that’s for sure,” Mikee Buchanan said regarding the importance of teamwork going into the championship matchup.

As for Butler, the Bearettes shot a combined 21-49 (43%) from the field, including 7-23 (30.4%) from three. After a slow start, future Wildcat Ramiya White finished with 18 points and nine rebounds. The only other Bearettes in double-digits were seniors Mariah Knight (14) and Malia Patrick, who finished with 12 points. In addition, White and Knight were named to the KHSAA All-Tournament Team following the conclusion of the game.

“It was hard at the beginning. We just had to believe in her throughout the season,” White said in the post-game press conference regarding having four different coaches in four years.

“A lot of people wouldn’t expect us to be in this position. Our luck just kind of ran out, and that’s okay, but I’m still so proud of my team,” Butler head coach Candyce Wheeler. “The standard is this. And that was the standard before.”

McCracken County will face the winner of Sacred Heart vs. Cooper, which tips off on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. EST. The championship game will take place on Saturday night, at 7:30 p.m. EST, where only one team will be crowned the winner.