According to plan
Tornado's strategy works well in win over NH

By Sam Tallarico
Eagle Staff Writer

BUTLER TWP — The plan for the Butler girls basketball team has been a simple one: get a lead and apply smothering pressure on defense.
That worked to near perfection Monday as the Golden Tornado used an 18-0 run first-half run to rout North Hills 57-28 in a Section 3-AAAA contest.
"We felt like we could get them to turn the ball over, but we couldn't capitalize on them enough," said Butler coach Dorothea Epps,
"I thought if we stayed with it, we could turn that around," she added.
After North Hills' Juli O'Connell drained a 3-pointer with 2:26 left in the first quarter, Butler's lead was two points at 13-11.
Jenna Manuel came off the bench to give Butler (5-1, 1-0) a spark, however, scoring the final eight points of the frame on a pair of 3-pointers and a putback with two seconds left.
Butler continued its roll in the second quarter by scoring the first 10 points and surging to a 34-17 halftime lead.
Butler scored only four points in the first 5:40 of the third quarter, but that was all that the Indians (1-4, 0-2) could muster as well.
"We wanted a strong beginning of the third quarter, but we didn't score much," said Epps. "Then, we went on a spurt. The defense was our saving grace. Our defense was great and we have to turn it up defensively to get points."
Butler held a 45-28 lead with 6:29 left, then closed out the game by scoring the final 12 points, including six by Olivia Bresnahan and the final four by Katherine Sylvia.
The Indians tallied 17 points over the final 24 minutes.
"Defense, that was the key tonight, because of transition points," said Epps.
Bresnahan led all scorers with 21 points and has scored 44 in her past two games. Manuel added 10 points, Kayla Gilliland nine, Cygan eight and Sylvia six to bolster the attack.
The win was a good way for the Tornado to open section play, but Epps knows it will be a battle every night.
"I told the girls in there that every section game is as important as the others," said Epps. "We won a section game. We worried about North Hills (Monday). We'll worry about Shaler (Tuesday, for Thursday's game).
"I like the way this team has stayed tough, stayed focused. I like what I've seen so far."

NORTH HILLS 28
Julie Havrilla 0 0-0 0, Juli O'Connell 2 0-0 5, Gabrielle Marshall 2 2-4 6, Tara Veverka 2 0-0 4, Leigha Zangaro 3 0-1 6, Katie Wilson 0 0-0 0, Emma Winger 1 0-1 2, Ali Patton 2 0-0 5, Aleah Marx 0 0-0 0, Katy Turzak 0 0-2 0, Jess Rectenwald 0 0-0 0, Maureen McDonough 0 0-0 0, Jessica Wieland 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12 2-8 28.
BUTLER 57
Lyndsy Day 1 0-0 2, Olivia Bresnahan 9 3-6 21, Karissa King 0 1-2 1, Erica Miller 0 0-0 0, Kayla Gilliland 3 3-5 9, Casie Cygan 2 2-2 8, Jenna Manuel 4 0-0 10, Katherine Sylvia 3 0-0 6, Ashley Onufrak 0 0-0 0, Casey Fleeger 0 0-0 0, Becky Nowacki 0 0-0 0, Amanda Dymun 0 0-0 0, Katresa Savisky 0 0-0 0, Emily Wise 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22 9-15
North Hills 11 6 6 5—28
Butler 21 13 9 14—57
3-point goals: O'Connell, Patton; Cygan 2, Manuel 2
JV: Butler, 47-23 (B:Casey Fleeger 11, Casie Cygan 11, Jenna Manuel 10)