JACKSON TWP — Simply put, Rob Lombardo wanted chaos.

The Seneca Valley girls basketball coach got his wish Monday night as his Raiders took advantage of 31 Butler turnovers in posting a 62-45 Section 3-AAAA victory over the Golden Tornado.

The win snapped a three game losing streak for SV (7-5, 3-3) while Butler (5-9, 2-3) tumbled to its fourth straight loss.

“We just came off a brutal stretch of schedule, playing three ranked teams (Bethel Park, Pine-Richland and North Allegheny) in a row,” Lombardo said. “Those games deflated our girls a little bit.

“Tonight we wanted to pick up the tempo, pressure the ball, maybe get a few easy buckets in transition. I figured if we could score 50 points, we could win this game.

“Besides, Butler's not used to playing at this helter-skelter pace. I think they got tired,” Lombardo added.

The Raiders took a 31-30 lead to the locker room at halftime, but had not led by more than three points. The lead changed hands seven times in the first half.

SV outscored the Tornado 21-9 in the third quarter to seize control of the game. The Raiders' two big girls inside — 6-foot-2 junior Melissa Carter and 6-1 sophomore Erin Danik — combined to score 11 of the 21.

Danik had 12 points, 11 rebounds and three steals in the game while Carter had seven points and 10 boards.

“With those two, we should never be outrebounded by anybody,” Lombardo said, SV holding a 39-27 edge on the boards. “We've been out-rebounded twice in 12 games and lost both times.”

Butler hung close in the first half despite committing 17 turnovers. The Tornado could not survive the 14 second-half miscues.

The visitors never did get back in the game after that third quarter. Shaley Bream's second trey of the night gave the Raiders their biggest lead at 60-42 with 3:08 to play.

“Turnovers have killed us all year,” Butler coach Dorothea Epps said. “Add to that the second and third-chance opportunities they were getting on the boards and all of the layups we missed ... That's a three-headed monster we're not going to overcome.”

The Tornado struggled at the free throw line as well, sinking just 11 of 21.

“Foul trouble hurt us, too,” Epps said. “Alyssa (DiPippa) had to sit a lot with fouls and she's the only one handling the ball right now.

“Danielle Hensel played a good first half and was standing out defensively before she got in foul trouble.”

Julia Baxter paced Butler weith 19 points, six rebounds and four assists. Kalynn Callihan sank three treys for nine points.

Lexus Lambert scored 13 points and had three steals for SV. Meghan Hess had nine points, seven steals and three assists while Michaela LaMont contributed five steals.

“That's our game, trying to stir things up and turn games into scrambles defensively,” Hess said. “We feed off that type of play.

“I like to just run around the floor and make things crazy.”

Hess is a three-year starter for the Raiders.

“She brings us experience, court awareness and a whole lot of energy,” Lombardo said. “Meghan is our little quarterback out there. She played 29 minutes tonight and she never stops running on the floor. She's in very good condition.”

Seneca Valley is in a good position following Monday's win, leap-frogging Butler for fourth place in the section.

“It's a big win for us, especially coming against Butler and having to control Julia Baxter and their point guard (DiPippa),” Hess said. “Maybe we can reel off a few in a row now.”

BUTLER 45

Mia Rader 0-1 2-3 2, Alyssa DiPippa 2-6 0-2 4, Melea Barlow 0-0 0-0 0, Ronni Guiney 0-0 0-0 0, Danielle Hensel 2-5 0-0 5, Kalynn Callihan 3-5 0-0 9, Kelsee Callihan 0-0 0-0 0, Jenna Kunst 0-2 4-10 4, Julia Baxter 7-14 5-6 19, Kailey Olenick 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 15-36 11-21 45.

SENECA VALLEY 62

Michaela Lamont 1-6 2-3 4, Shaley Bream 3-6 0-0 8, Christina Dunning 3-5 0-1 7, Meghan Hess 3-8 2-2 9, Sarah Jones 1-5 0-0 2, Lexus Lambert 6-13 1-2 13, Paige Montrose 0-0 0-0 0, Melissa Carter 2-6 3-6 7, Erin Danik 3-8 6-6 12. Totals: 22-57 14-20 62.

Butler 12 18 9 6 — 45

Seneca Valley15 16 21 10 — 62

3-point goals: Ka.Callihan 3, Hensel; Bream 2, Dunning, Hess

JV: Seneca Valley, 59-16 (B: Kailey Olenick 6; SV: Brooke Lyczek 22, Abby Valentine 9)

Thursday: Butler at North Hills, Oakland Catholic at Seneca Valley