3 observations from Bullitt East's girls basketball victory over rival Butler

The road to the Sixth Region girls basketball title still runs through Mount Washington, but Bullitt East High School coach Chris Stallings said his team is a bit behind where he thought it would be at this point of the season.

That’s because several of the Chargers’ leaders – seniors Gracie Merkle, Emma Egan and Haleigh Mason, junior Lilly Reid and sophomore Jada Hughes – missed time during the summer and fall while recovering from injuries.

“That might be why we’re behind a little bit execution-wise,” Stallings said. “Of course it’s the third game of the year, so we have a lot to work on there.”

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Bullitt East showed signs of its strength Tuesday night, getting a game-high 21 points from Reid in a 55-36 victory over visiting Butler.

Egan, a La Salle signee, scored 11 points and Bellarmine University signee Merkle added 10 points for the Chargers.

Bullitt East, ranked No. 3 in the state in The Courier Journal’s preseason poll of coaches, improved to 3-0. No. 21 Butler, rebuilding under first-year coach LaKesha Perry, dropped to 0-3.

Here are three observations from Tuesday’s game:

Big 3rd quarter lifts Chargers

Bullitt East struggled from the field in the first half and led 27-14 early in the third quarter before getting hot and pulling away.

The Chargers put together a 19-3 run to take a 46-16 lead with 2:22 left in the quarter. Reid scored 11 points during the surge, including eight in a row.

“The further we get in the year,” Stalling said, “the better we’ll execute.”

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The 6-foot-6 Merkle battled knee and ankle injuries during the summer and fall and missed about three months of action before returning to practice in mid-October.

Of her 10 points Tuesday, eight came after offensive rebounds.

“It’s a little hard because I wasn’t able to get out and do anything, so I’m out of shape,” Merkle said of her preseason injuries. “That’s hard. I’m getting back in shape.”

Butler a work in progress

Butler lost five of its top five scorers from last season’s team that was the regional runner-up and is a work in progress, Perry said.

“We’ve very young, so we’re still trying to build that chemistry, still trying to teach them the game,” Perry said. “They’ll come along. They’re getting better and better each and every day, and we’ll keep on working at it.”

Butler’s chances were diminished Tuesday when senior Tamesha Dozier, the lone returning starter from last season, picked up her second foul at the 3:17 mark of the first quarter and missed the rest of the first half.

Perry is hopeful 6-3 sophomore Ramiya White, a transfer from Mercy, will be ruled eligible soon. White averaged 9.5 points and 7.7 rebounds last season and Butler and already has several NCAA Division I scholarship offers, including from the University of Kentucky.

“She’s a great kid, and she’s always a leader in practice,” Perry said. “Having her extra voice and points and rebounding and everything would help us a lot.”

New number for Merkle

Those who have followed Merkle’s career will notice she’s switched jersey numbers – from No. 44 to No. 24 this season.

Merkle said there’s no story behind the change but has decided to make it a tribute to Kobe Bryant, who wore Nos. 24 and 8 during his NBA career.

“My coaches just handed me a jersey,” Merkle said with a smile. “I was like, ‘Why is the number different?’ I’m going by that they think I’m Kobe.”

Bullitt East coaches explained the school switched from Nike to Adidas uniforms this season and that jersey No. 44 wasn’t included in the new batch.

BUTLER 6 7 8 15 - 36

BULLITT EAST 11 16 20 8 - 55

Butler (0-3) – Kylie Floyd 3, Aries Harris 3, Aniya Haskins 4, Tamesha Dozier 7, Makayla Alexander 7, Malia Patrick 7, Emaree Gober 2, Anieja Russell 3.

Bullitt East (3-0) – Emma Egan 11, Anna Rodgers 6, Logan Ortega 2, Lilly Reid 21, Haleigh Mason 5, Gracie Merkle 10.

Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @kyhighs.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: KHSAA girls basketball: 3 takeaways from Bullitt East win over Butler