BUTLER TWP — Jenna Kunst can see the difference.

It is very apparent in the way the Butler girls basketball team practices all the way to how they play on game nights, said the sophomore forward.

And now, that hard work is starting to pay dividends.

“We’ve been working so hard in practice,” Kunst said. “This can be a turning point. Definitely.”

The turning point in the game against Franklin Regional Thursday night was Butler found itself down by eight points in the fourth quarter, but managed to rally to tie the game and send it to overtime.

In the extra session, the Tornado seized control thanks to the clutch free throw shooting of senior Tiana Schaffner and downed the Panthers, 59-53.

“It definitely was huge,” said Kunst, who scored 25 points, 10 coming in the fourth quarter, and hit a 3-pointer with less than a minute remaining in regulation to force OT. “We knew we had a chance to win this game. We stuck with it. We fought to the end.”

Butler (3-14) had not played in many close games this season. The average spread of points between winner and loser in Tornado games this season has been nearly 27.

The Tornado, though, played this tight game like seasoned veterans.

“Give them credit for the poise they showed,” said Butler coach Joe Lewandowski. “That’s one of the things you have to feel good about. In practice you still rep situational things like this and the girls, they came though and they battled. It’s all about them and how hard they worked.”

The game was a see-saw affair throughout.

There were seven lead changes in the first half with Butler heading into the break up 27-26.

The Tornado fell behind by six at the end of the third quarter and by eight early in the fourth.

Butler trailed by five as late as 1:46 in the fourth quarter, but was able to rally.

“I think over the last two weeks you saw, ‘Man, what a change they’ve made,’” Lewandowski said.

Franklin Regional (6-12) finds itself in the same boat as Butler with a slew of young players getting the majority of the playing time.

Three freshmen and two sophomores saw significant minutes for the Panthers and first-year coach Courtney Callas, who is a 2004 Freeport High School graduate.

“You never have expectations for freshmen,” Callas said. “Whatever you get from them, you get from them. It just takes experience being in those situations and I just don’t think as a whole they’ve been in those situations often in the past. There’s a learning curve to it.”

In overtime, Schaffner came up big at the line, sinking 7-of-8 free throws.

Schaffner finished with 13 points and was 9-of-10 from the line in the game.

“That was Tiana as a senior coming in saying, ‘I’m going to ice the game here and knock down these free throws,’” Lewandowski said.

Kunst is hoping this win is something to build on down the home stretch of the season.

“I hope we can beat Ambridge (Saturday) and Seneca Valley (next week),” Kunst said.

Lewandowski said his team has never failed to have a good practice this season.

He was also pleased with the enthusiasm his team displayed both on the court and from the players on the bench.

“That’s what it’s about,” Lewandowski said. “You’re building a culture where you respect each other, where teamwork is important, where you go to battle with your sisters and if you come out on top, that’s great and if you don’t, you know you live to fight another day. We have a good group that works hard.”

FRANKLIN REGIONAL 53

Sam Hlozek 1-2 1-2 3, Kassidy Hubert 4-16 8-10 16, Hannah Turacy 1-6 0-0 3, Natalie Palmer 1-4 1-2 4, Paige Verona 2-7 9-11 13, Kaitlyn Carr 1-3 2-2 4, Jordan Yaniga 3-8 4-5 10, Alex Reitz 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 13-46 25-32 53.

BUTLER 59

Mia Rader 1-3 0-0 3, Alyssa Eyth 2-8 3-3 7, Jenna Kunst 9-14 6-9 25, Tiana Schaffner 2-9 9-10 13, Kailey Olenick 1-5 1-2 4, Julia Gibson 3-5 0-2 6, Liz Kuhn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-44 19-26 59.

Franklin Regional 10 16 13 8 6 — 53

Butler12 15 6 14 12 — 59

3-point goals: Franklin Regional 2 (Turacy, Palmer); Butler 4 (rader, Kunst, Schaffner, Olenick)

JV: Franklin Regional 49-46

Saturday: Ambridge at Butler