Butler's
season gets new life
John Enrietto is
sports editor of the
The basketball gods have smiled upon
Because Peters Township upset second-seeded Mount Lebanon in the WPIALClass
AAAA semifinals, the Golden Tornado have gained a berth in the PIAAgirls
basketball tournament.
It is a berth well-deserved, of course. Butler has fashioned a 23-3 record,
after all, including a 21-game winning streak, and lost a thrilling overtime
decision to Peters Township in the WPIALquarterfinals.
But it is a berth that would not have happened if the Indians had lost in the
semifinals.
There might be a slim chance that Butler senior point guard Lyndsy Day will see
action in the state tournament. Since it doesn't begin until Friday, two weeks
will have passed since Day injured her knee against Hempfield in the first
round of the WPIALplayoffs.
Two weeks doesn't seem like much recuperation or rehab time, but you never
know.
Bresnahan is a different story.
The sophomore guard has been the Tornado's best player and one of the county's
leading scorers, averaging 15.7 points per game.
Bresnahan had the flu during Butler's 53-51 overtime loss to Peters Township.
Despite the illness, she recorded 15 points, seven rebounds and five steals in
that game.
Clearly winded going down the stretch — coach Dorothea Epps said afterward that
Bresnahan could barely breathe — the sophomore wouldn't come off the floor.
"She's a gamer,"was Epps' description.
But the game did not end in Bresnahan's favor.
Struggling at the foul line most of this season, she missed five of six free
throws in the fourth quarter.
With six seconds left in overtime, Bresnahan took the inbounds pass, quickly
dribbled through three defenders, drove the length of the court, and tossed up
a runner from the right baseline at the buzzer.
The ball deflected short off the rim.
The basketball gods should have let that one go in.
As Peters Township players and coaches poured onto the floor in jubilation, a
winded Bresnahan stood at the baseline. Exhausted, her head dropped.
A sad ending to a super season? It would have been.
But the super season isn't over.
Butler has been granted another chance. And Bresnahan's dynamic sophomore year
doesn't have to end on that memory.
She still has free throw woes to work out and she still needs to develop a
consistent outside shot. But Bresnahan has two more years of high school
basketball to play.
Before she's done, Bresnahan's contributions to her team will far outweigh one
night's gutsy effort that fell short.
This girl is a gifted athlete who is dedicated to the sport. She likely will
graduate as one of Butler's best.
But that's for down the road.
Her sophomore season isn't over yet.