Frosh rises to the occasion
Bresnahan piles up 16 points in Butler victory


By Sam Tallarico
Eagle Staff Writer


BUTLER TWP —
Butler coach Dorothea Epps knew there was a risk in putting a freshman into the starting lineup, particularly when it came time for section games.
So far, Olivia Bresnahan has met every challenge.
Bresnahan scored 16 points to key the Golden Tornado's 68-39 girls basketball victory over Shaler Thursday in Section 3-AAAA action.
Maria Baroffio added 17 points and
Amy Achesinski netted 14 for Butler (8-1, 2-0).
"The one thing about Olivia is she has so much poise," said Epps. "As a freshman, she's not rattled. She's very receptive to learning. She's just a solid player."
Bresnahan had a pair of first-quarter steals that she converted to scores as the Tornado (8-1, 2-0) built a 13-9 lead.
Butler then used a 14-2 run to open the second quarter to build a 27-11 lead with 3:36 until halftime.
"We needed to push the ball up the floor more and get some junk points," said Epps. "Then we get what the defense gives us."
Bresnahan had eight points in the half and Baroffio had seven, but Achesinski was limited to four points.
"The great thing about
Amy is she knows that'll happen, and it doesn't matter," said Epps. "The bottom line is she wants to win."
The Titans (3-6, 0-3) closed the half with a 7-2 run, with the final three coming on a shot by Jackie Sauer in the final seconds to trim the deficit to 29-18.
The Tornado, however, came out on fire in the second half, using a 12-2 advantage to take a 41-20 lead.
Achesinski and Baroffio had four points each in that span to help the squad pull away. The Titans got no closer than 17 points the rest of the way.
"That's been the big thing with this team and how important that is," said Epps. "Last year, we had leads coming out in the third quarter and lost them.
"When you have a team on the ropes, that's when you have to put them away. That's where having four seniors (Achesinski, Baroffio, Rachel Barry and Elizabeth Schultz) helps," Epps added.
Epps also praised the play of junior guards Karissa King and Erica Miller, who were thrown into the mix and helped limit the Titans to fewer than 40 points.
"They're really growing up and getting confidence," said Epps. "That's really helped us."
The Titans received 16 points apiece from Sauer and Melissa McQuade.

SHALER39
Olivia DiNucci 2 0-0 4, Kristin Devlin 0 1-2 1, Melissa McQuade 6 3-4 16, Julianne Harris 0 0-0 0, Jackie Sauer 5 4-7 16, Chrissy Biedrzycki 0 0-0 0, Jocelyn Delaney 0 0-0 0, Colleen Cannon 0 0-0 0, Erin Boyle 0 0-2 0, Holly Knaus 1 0-0 2.
Totals: 14 8-13 39.

BUTLER68
Rachel Barry 1 3-4 5, Olivia Bresnahan 6 4-4 16, Elizabeth Schultz 1 0-0 2,
Amy Achesinski 7 0-1 14, Maria Baroffio 5 6-6 17, Erica Miller 0 4-4 4, Karissa King 2 2-2 7, Katherine Sylvia 1 0-0 2, Rachel Doutt 0 1-2 1, Becky Smith 0 0-1 0, Kayla Gilliland 0 0-0 0, Ashley Onufrak 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 20-24 68.

Shaler 9 9 10 11—39
Butler 13 16 20 19—68
3-point goals:
Sauer 2, McQuade; Baroffio, King
JV:
Butler, 51-13 (B: Rachel Doutt 15, Becky Smith 14)