SOUTH WAYNE — Black Hawk senior Bailey Butler etched her name in the annals of Wisconsin high school basketball history as she was named the state’s 2021 Miss Basketball by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association.

Butler, a UW-Green Bay signee, led the state in scoring (28.3), assists (7.9) and was the Division 5 leader 3-point shooting percentage (43.6). She was also third in the state in steals (6.2), averaged 7.8 rebounds, was named the WisSports.net Point Guard of the Year, won the Six Rivers East Conference Player of the Year for the third straight season and led her team to a 21-1 record this year, which was part of a 75-game winning streak, the third longest in state history.

“I’d be lying if I said I expected it,” said Mike Flanagan, Butler’s coach. “It’s a testament to the hard work she puts in.”

Butler ends her career with 1,960 points — the most in school history. She also finished with 562 assists, 565 steals and 504 rebounds.

“I think she has such a good understanding of knowing what her team needed her to do in every situation,” Flanagan said. “Just when you thought she maybe reached her peak, she surpassed it. She was an assistant coach out on the floor for me. She was just engaged all of the time.”

Before the season, Flanagan told Butler she’d have to pick her game up even more than in years past, giving that four starters graduated, including Butler’s sister and Natalie Leuzinger, the No. 1 and No. 3 scorers in school history to that point. 

“She worked as hard or harder than she normally would,” Flanagan said of Butler’s offseason, despite the COVID-19 shutdowns and restrictions. “It showed in her shooting, her shooting percentage and in her repertoire scoring down at the rim.”

About halfway through the season, Butler’s game-by-game box score numbers were starting to open some eyes — not just from Black Hawk supporters or from direct opponents, but from around the state. She recorded an ultra-rare quadruple double Jan. 4 in a 20-point win over rival Albany, which was ranked in the state.

“Before the year (coach Flanagan) told me to play to the best of my abilities,” Butler said. “About halfway through the season, he said that with the numbers I was putting up, I could get in the mix” for the award.

She continued bringing her ‘A’ game each night during the season, and prior to the WIAA Division 5 state semifinal in La Crosse, it was announced that Butler was named Miss Basketball.

“I was kind of emotional when they told me,” said Butler, who found out the Saturday of the sectional final win over Albany Feb. 20. “I didn’t believe it at first. I starting tearing up a bit. It just goes to show that if you work hard, you can achieve anything.”

Butler did not set the precedence for a team in the state’s smallest division to win the award — in fact, not even for her conference. Small school winners in years past include Darlene Rademaker of Thorp in 1990, Anna DeForge of Niagara (1994), Amy Wiersema of Randolph (1995), Jolene Anderson of South Shore (2004), Gabriel Ortiz of The Prairie School (2015) and Hannah Whitish of Barneveld (2016). Locally, she joins Monroe graduate Ellie Radke (2006) as Miss Basketball.