Ask coach Eboni Fields, and she’ll tell you that Butler Lady Bulldogs basketball is peaking at just the right time.
Fields is in her fifth season at the helm of Butler’s program, and the Lady Bulldogs have made the state tournament each year. But it’s been a few seasons since Butler’s seen some of the success it’s experienced this year.
For example, Butler defeated both Josey and Thomson in the Region 4-AA tournament. Thomson in the semifinal and Josey in the championship game.
It’s the first time Butler’s beaten either school since the 2020-21 season. And as for Josey, before that, you’d have to go back 12 years to find the last time the Eagles lost to a Butler basketball team.
That’s also the same season when Butler last won a region championship. That Butler squad was a two-point loss to Fannin County away from meeting up with Josey in the Class AA state championship game.
This season, each of Butler’s four attempts in the regular season to win against either squad ended in defeat. The difference last week?
Focus and togetherness.
“I think we stuck to the game plan. We were definitely more focused,” Fields said after Butler’s 54-46 region semifinal win against Thomson which came exactly six days after a 52-37 loss to the same.
“We played tough. We played with poise. We stuck to the game plan and we stuck together as a team, even though it was tough all night. I couldn’t ask them for anymore than what they gave. I’m so proud of them.”
Especially considering where Butler was this time last season. Though a state tournament team that eventually made it to the Class AA Elite Eight round before seeing its season end against Landmark Christian, Butler found itself limping into state tournament play after a pair of frustrating losses to Thomson and Laney in the 2023 region tournament.
Fields watched her team bounce back for solid wins against Tattnall County and Northeast. But this season feels a bit different. Partly because of a couple additions to the roster that have changed the complexion of this team.
First is Brayla Harris who came over from Cross Creek where her 14.2 ppg average was third best behind Michaela Bogans and Tahjae Hawes. Harris went from third option to top option when she got to Butler. Her 19.4 points, five rebounds, 2.6 assists and three steals per game have given the Bulldogs a versatile player who makes her presence felt all over the court.
Secondly is senior Karen Nimo. Nimo’s 10.5 points and seven boards a game aren’t even the most impressive part of her story. It’s that, up until this season, Nimo had never played high school basketball before.
Crazy to think about when you realize she may have played the two best games of her career against the two best teams in Class AA on a championship stage. Nimo’s 25 points against Thomson and 13 points against Josey raised eyebrows and turned heads, especially considering she shot a combined 8-for-8 from 3-point range in both games.
Fields says both players have done much to transform Butler’s roster.
“The new players added to the roster brought a different level of energy to our team,” Fields said. “We graduated two last year and added two new ones this year. Everyone else is a returner, and they’ve all meshed together and are playing really well together. It took us some time to get right, but now that we’re peaking at the right time, I think we’ll do well.”
More than the offensive output of the duo, Fields says she’s most excited about the way Harris and Nimo have bolstered the squad’s defensive prowess. That showed up prominently in the way Butler corralled Thomson’s junior star Jada Kendrick.
Kendrick still had 19 points, but it was arguably the toughest 19 points she’s earned all season. And that was the biggest part of Fields’ game plan.
“Make her work,” Fields said. “For every point. Make it tough. Players like Jada, they’re great players and you have to have hands in their face and through different bodies at her. You’ve gotta make sure their shots are tough and contested, and we were able to do that.”
And while four of Josey’s players reached double figures in the region championship game, only five players scored for the Lady Eagles. Meanwhile, Butler got solid minutes out of its bench, and Harris’ 16, Nimo’s 13 and sophomore Paris Floyd’s 10 points helped tip the scales.
The outcome in this year’s tournament was so different than last year’s not just because of talent, but desire and heart.
“The way they played shows they still believe,” Fields said. “Our goal is to win a region championship, and by doing what they did, it shows they never gave up on each other. They never give up and they continue to play hard.”
Tuesday, Butler’s quest for its first state championship since 1964 begins as it hosts Fitzgerald (14-13) at 6 p.m. The Purple Hurricane is a formidable opponent that comes in as a fourth seed because they had to forfeit a couple of games in the Region 1-AA tournament. But Fitzgerald finished second in the regular season standings.
But Fields isn’t worried about standings and seeding. At this juncture of the season, it’s not even worth considering.
“Records don’t matter anymore,” Fields said. “Everybody’s bringing their best at this point of the season, because everybody’s fighting for their season. I like where we are, though. If we continue to play hard and play together and stick to the game plan against whatever team we’re playing against, I think we have a good chance to go pretty deep in this thing.
“And we want to keep going.”
