Late
surge keys Butler
Tornado
girls outpoint Titans 21-7 in 4th quarter
SHALER TWP — When it came down to crunch time, it was Butler that was making
all the noise.
In their Section 3-AAAA matchup against Shaler Monday night, the Golden Tornado
girls basketball team outscored the Titans 21-7 in the fourth quarter to come
away with a 49-39 victory.
Butler sank 14 of 16 free throws in that frame, including 7-of-8 by Amanda
Dymun and 4-of-4 by Olivia Bresnahan.
"The fourth quarter was clutch for us," said Butler coach Dorothea
Epps. "If you're going to make them, that's when you do it."
Butler (14-1, 8-0) connected on four of its 10 free throws in the first half
but made 17-of-20 in the second half.
Butler needed them as the Titans made a third-quarter push, turning a 22-16
deficit into a 30-24 lead with 2:08 left in the period.
The Titans' Olivia DiNucci started the 12-2 run with a four-point play. She
finished with a game-high 20 points.
Butler trailed Shaler (11-5, 5-3) by six points before Bresnahan scored with
four seconds left in the quarter, then scored the first nine points of the
fourth quarter to take a 37-32 lead with 4:01 to play.
A Jenna Manuel 3-pointer in that span helped Butler take a lead it would never
surrender.
"We talked in the pregame about not panicking if we got down," said
Epps. "We've been down before and knew they would take a run at us. The
game was tight and we knew that.
"We kept our composure on the offensive end, but kept coming on
defense,"Epps added.
Shaler's Haley Sauer converted a three-point play to make it a two-point
contest.
Butler was clinging to a 41-39 lead with 1:36 remaining, but the Tornado closed
out the scoring, sinking 8 of 10 free throws down the stretch.
Bresnahan led the Tornado with 17 points while Dymun added 15 and Manuel eight
points. Along with DiNucci, Hilary Sauer added 10 points for the Titans.
"A win like this on the road is great," said Epps. "Everyone is
after you. You have that 'X' on your back.
"Liv took over and made all her free throws in the fourth quarter.
"This is a tribute to the girls and their hard work. To be a good
championship team, you have to be ready. Teams will make a run at
you,"Epps added.
BUTLER49
Casey Fleeger 0 0-0 0, Olivia Bresnahan 5 7-10 17, Amanda Dymun 2 11-16 Casie
Cygan 1 0-0 2, Jenna Manuel 2 2-2 8, Katresa Savisky 0 0-0 0, Becky Nowacki 0
0-0 0, Ali Sedwick 2 1-2 5, Emily Wise 0 0-0 0, Rachel Doutt 1 0-0 2. Totals:
13 21-30 49.
SHALER39
Maria Bozzo 0 0-1 0, Olivia DiNucci 7 5-5 20, Valerie McQuade 1 0-1 2, Hilary
Sauer 3 4-6 10, Haley Sauer 2 1-2 5, Cate Potter 1 0-0 2, Ashley Domachowsky 0
0-0 0, Holly Knaus 0 0-2 0. Totals: 14 10-17 39.
Butler 10 9 9 21—49
Shaler 8 8 16 7—39
3-point goals: Manuel 2; DiNucci