Diversity pays off
Tornado's Cygan is more well-rounded player in victory
By
Mike Kilroy
Eagle Staff Writer
BUTLER TWP — While Casie Cygan isn't just a shooter anymore, she has retained
the shooter's mentality.
Cygan, a senior guard for the
Cygan regained her outside shooting touch after her slow start and also showed
the ability to drive to the hoop.
"That's what we've worked on and talked to her about: not being one
dimensional," said
Cygan has reinvented herself.
Thought of as only an outside sharpshooter, Cygan has crafted her game into
much more, partly out of necessity.
"The last two years I've been known as 'The Shooter,'" Cygan said.
"Teams are shutting that down some, so I have to change up my game some,
go to the hoop, rebound."
Cygan did all of that and a little more Monday night.
She was 6-of-6 from the free throw line, had six rebounds despite her 5-foot-5
frame and was a terror on the defensive end as the Golden Tornado (4-5, 2-0)
forced 34 turnovers and made virtually every offensive trip down the floor an
adventure for Pine-Richland (4-4, 0-2) during the first three quarters.
"Casie did other things," Epps said. "She got to the loose
balls. She played a good all-around game."
Cygan scored seven points in the first quarter as the Golden Tornado stormed
out to a 21-6 lead and chipped in seven more in the second quarter to help
guide Butler to 41-16 advantage at halftime.
With Pine-Richland paying close attention to Butler's Olivia Bresnahan, Cygan
was able to get free — and to keep shooting.
"The coaches tell me all the time to keep shooting, to always know I'm
going to make the next shot," Cygan said. "You just have to be
confident."
The Butler defense sapped Pine-Richland of any confidence it might have had
entering the game.
The Rams came into the night averaging 49 points per game. They had 21 at the
end of three quarters.
A relentless Butler press caused turnover after turnover, and when
Pine-Richland was able to get into an offensive set, the shots were usually off
the mark
The Rams were 10-of-48 from the floor.
It all starts with defense for Butler. And it didn't take long for the Tornado
to smell blood in the water, Cygan said.
"That's just our game," Cygan said. "I think we play better when
we pressure. I think we get a little bit lazy when we don't.
"When we get those first few steals, we can definitely feel it."
Bresnahan finished with 14 points and seven assists in a little more than two
quarters.
A brutal early schedule that included a four-game trip to Florida has prepared
Butler for the rigors of section play, Epps said.
"We took some beating early on, but we felt we could learn from it,"
Epps said. "And I think we did. The Florida games did, the Mt. Lebo game
did. Each one taught us something new."
PINE-RICHLAND 35
Abbie Altman 1-3 5-6 8, Kayleigh Jackson 0-3 1-4 1, Lisa Radar 2-5 0-2 4,
Brittany Kilian 0-8 2-4 2, Kelly Keenan 2-4 0-0 4, Kathleen Humes 0-3 3-4 3,
McDarragh Minnock 5-8 1-1 11, Brittany Byerly 0-7 0-0 0, Kara Peters 0-4 2-4 2,
Rachel Verbanac 0-0 0-0 0, Emily Johanson 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor Berresford 0-1 0-0
0, Hannah Todorowski 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 10-48 14-23 35.
BUTLER 64
Casey Fleeger 3-6 0-0 7, Katresa Savisky 1-3 3-4 5, Becky Nowacki 2-4 1-2
5, Olivia Bresnahan 7-11 0-1 14, Amanda Dymun 0-0 2-2 2, Amber Steinheiser 0-0
0-0 0, Jasmine Bailey 1-1 1-2 3, Emily Wise 1-3 0-0 3, Angela Nowacki 0-1 0-0
0, Casie Cygan 5-16 6-6 18, Alexandria Houk 0-1 0-0 0, Mackenzie O'Donnell 1-3
0-0 2, Caitlyn Baxter 2-3 1-2 4. Totals: 23-52 14-19 64.
Pine-Richland 6 10 5 14—35
Butler 21 20 12 11—64
3-point goals: Pine-Richland 1 (Altman); Butler 4 (Cygan 2, Wise, Fleeger).
JV Score: Butler 33-31