WEXFORD — There’s no taming these Tigers.

Taylor Lake and Abby Gonzales both reached the 1,000-point plateau and North Allegheny overcame a sluggish start to defeat Butler, 56-32, in a Section 3-AAAA girls basketball game Tuesday night.

The Golden Tornado (2-14, 0-9) trailed only 14-8 late in the first quarter after Tiana Schaffner stuck back an offensive rebound.

“We hung with them for a while. The effort was there ... It’s always there,” Butler coach Joe Lewandowski said. “Our bugaboo continues to be turnovers and a lot of that is because of how young we are.

“You can’t give up 22 possessions and expect to stay in the game.”

The Tornado had 24 turnovers in the contest, including nine in the third quarter. But North Allegheny (14-3, 9-0) only outscored Butler 12-7 in the frame.

After Schaffner’s put-back, the Tigers went on a 12-2 run to open up a 16-point lead. Butler never got any closer. Courtney Roman got the run started with a 3-pointer.

But this night belonged to Gonzales and Lake.

Gonzales reached the 1,000-point mark when she drained a trey less than a minute into the third quarter. Lake followed suit when she converted a three-point play to begin the fourth.

Lake led the Tigers with 24 points, 10 rebounds and three steals. Gonzales had nine points, seven rebounds and five steals.

“Those two seniors are the cornerstones of this team,” NA coach Spencer Stefko said. “The other girls follow their lead, their work ethic.

“To see the two of them get to 1,000 in the same game really makes this a special night.”

Alyssa Eyth paced Butler with 15 points, six rebounds and three steals. Schaffner had six points and seven boards.

“We tweaked our offense a little bit and Alyssa made a lot of things happen,” Lewandowski said. “She played a great game.

“They did an excellent job of taking away (Jenna) Kunst. Their defense was structured to stop her.”

Kunst was held to four points and six rebounds.

While North Allegheny won its seventh straight game, Butler has dropped seven straight.

“But these girls never stop working, never stop learning,” Lewandowski said. “In the huddle, all of their eyes are on me. They’re focused and that makes them fun to coach.”

BUTLER 32

Mia Rader 0-2 0-00, Alyssa Eytgh 4-11 7-7 15, Melea Barlow 0-0 0-0m,0, Jenna Kunst 2-8 0-1 4, Sydney Hanratty 0-0 0-0 0, Noel Pfabe 1-3 0-0 3, Kelsee Callihan 0-0 0-0 0, Julia Gibson 1-5 0-0 2, Tiana Schaffner 3-9 0-0 6, Kailey Olenick 0-2 0-0 0, Heidi Gross 0-1 2-2 2, Allison Schubnert 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 11-41 9-9 32.

NORTH ALLEGHENY 56

Taylor Lake 10-15 4-7 24, Rachel Martindale 3-5 0-0 8, Piper Morningstar 0-2 1-2 1, Abby Gonzales 3-12 2-6 9, Madelyn Fischer 4-6 0-0 8, Brynn Serbin 0-3 1-2 1, Savannah Strickland 0-0 0-0 0, Courtney Roman 1-4 0-0 3, Allison Fischer 0-1 0-0 0, Dana Manz 0-1 0-0 0 . Totals: 21-48 10-19 56.

Butler 8 8 7 7 — 32

N.Allegheny17 15 12 12 — 56

3-point goals: Pfabe; Martindale 2, Gonzales, Roman

JV: North Allegheny, 41-36 (B: Sydney Hanratty 7, NA: Brynn Serbin 12)

Thursday: Franklin Regional at Butler