Tornado girls exploit Raiders' poor 1st quarter in section win

Tornado girls exploit Raiders' poor 1st quarter in section win

BUTLER TWP — This one wasn't over before it started, but it was close.
Butler streaked to a 17-0 lead in the first four minutes against turnover-plagued Seneca Valley and cruised to a 68-22 girls basketball victory Friday night.
The Golden Tornado (14-5, 11-0) won their 12th straight game and can complete a perfect section season with a win Saturday at Moon.
The Raiders (2-17, 1-10) lost their fifth in a row.
"It was a hard game to coach because you don't want to embarrass anybody," Butler coach Dorothea Epps said. "But at the same time, we hadn't played in so long and we wanted to run the floor a little bit."
The score was 28-1 by the end of the first period. Seneca Valley suffered 15 turnovers in the first eight minutes while getting only five field goal attempts.
The Raiders didn't score a field goal until Alex Karika sank a layup with 13 seconds left in the first half.
"We talked about this game on the bus ride here tonight, how it was going to be a challenge for us," Raiders coach Rob Lombardo said. "All I asked from the girls was maximum effort. Let's give them our best shot. We didn't do that in the first quarter."
Four Butler players reached double figures. Casie Cygan led the way with 14 points, six rebounds, five steals and three assists. Olivia Bresnahan added 12 points and five assists.
Casey Fleeger and Katresa Savisky contributed 11 points each, Savisky adding four steals.
"After our girls settled down and realized (the Golden Tornado) are human like were, we played much better," Lombardo said. "I want us to play man-to-man defense on a regular basis, so we stuck with it.
"How bad Butler beat us that way shows how skilled that team is."
Seneca Valley turned the ball over only nine times in the final three quarters.
Before the game, Butler honored its seven seniors: Fleeger, Savisky, Bresnahan, Cygan, Becky Nowacki, Amanda Dymun and Emily Wise.
"When a class comes through a school with a star like Olivia, there can be problems in the locker room, envy or whatever," Epps said. "That has never been the case here."
Bresnahan was recognized before the game for being one of 2,500 nominees nationwide for the McDonalds All-American team. The nominees will be pared to 24 for a nationally televised all-star game later in the season.
"Olivia didn't want to make a big deal out of that, but it's a tremendous honor," Epps said.
Butler also recognized Seneca Valley seniors Beth Talarico and Gabby Allen during pregame festivities.

SENECA VALLEY 22
Julie Vandrak 0-3 0-0 0, Beth Talarico 0-3 0-0 0, Audrey Semel 0-1 2-2 2, Michelle Schuring 0-0 0-0 0, Kanei Franzaglio 1-6 0-0 3, Gabby Allen 0-4 0-0 0, Kasra Moyer 0-3 1-2 1, Alyssa Miller 0-3 0-0 0, Mary Kate Fullerton 0-0 0-2 0, Brianna Sieminski 1-2 0-0 2, Amanda Geiger 0-5 2-2 2, Angie Lalonde 0-1 1-2 1, Alex Karika 2-5 2-4 6, Brooke Clifford 0-2 0-0 0, Dani Fitzgerald 2-3 1-2 5. Totals: 6-41 9-16 22.

BUTLER 68
Casey Fleeger 5-7 0-0 11, Katresa Savisky 5-9 1-2 11, Becky Nowacki 0-0 0-0 0, Olivia Bresnahan 5-12 2-2 12, Amanda Dymun 3-4 1-3 7, Jasmine Bailey 1-4 0-0 2, Emily Wise 1-1 0-0 3, Sam Marak 0-0 0-0 0, Angie Nowacki 0-0 0-0 0, Casie Cygan 4-11 5-6 14, Mackenzie O'Donnell 2-2 1-2 5, Amber Steinheiser 0-1 0-0 0, Allie Houk 0-2 0-0 0, Caitlin Baxter 0-1 1-2 1, Ali Sedwick 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 27-57 11-17 68.
Seneca Valley 1 8 7 6—22
Butler 28 11 20 9—68
3-point goals: Seneca Valley 1 (Franzaglio); Butler 3 (Cygan, Wise, Fleeger).
Junior varsity: Butler, 55-13 (B: Mackenzie O'Donnell 14, Jasmine Bailey 10, SV: Brooke Clifford 7)