PINE TWP — Some coaches may shy away from competing in such a strong section.

Butler girls basketball coach Joe Lewandowski relishes it.

Monday night, the Golden Tornado faced their stiffest test to date, a Class 6A-Section 1 clash at undefeated Pine-Richland.

Lewandowski remained upbeat following his team’s 66-25 loss to the Rams, snapping Butler’s six-game winning streak.

“Pine-Richland is ranked second in the state for a reason,” he said. “On Thursday, we play North Allegheny and they’re No. 3 in the state. We play in the best league in the state and we love it.

“You want to be in situations where you’re competing against the best teams.”

Monday’s game pitted the two remaining unbeaten teams in Section 1, but the Rams quickly showed they are the best squad the six-team field has to offer.

They opened the game with a 23-0 run and led 26-2 after one quarter. The Rams (12-0, 3-0) hit five 3-pointers in the first period, three of them coming from senior Amanda Kalin, a Duquesne University recruit.

“We wanted to come out and play fast and see how Butler reacted to it,” said Pine-Richland coach Tom Reighard.

The Golden Tornado struggled with turnovers, committing eight in the first eight minutes.

“Pine-Richland was on a roll coming in and we just ran into a buzzsaw tonight,” said Lewandowski. “They’re a senior-heavy team and they executed well.”

Butler junior forward Alyssa Eyth heated up in the second quarter, sinking four of her six baskets in the period. She led the Golden Tornado (8-3, 2-1) with 12 points in the game.

“We played much better in the second quarter and battled in the second half,” Lewandowski said. “That’s all you can ask for.”

Kalin paced all scorers with 18 points. Anna Jurkovic, a freshman, added 12 and Kenzie Jenkins 10 for the Rams.

Pine-Richland’s dominant start to the season is the result of a singular mind-set, according to Reighard.

“It’s the girls coming to practice every day and looking to work hard,” he said. “We have several goals this year and one of them is to win the section title. We haven’t done that here since 1998.”

Lewandowski has no doubt his team will promptly put its latest game in the rear-view mirror.

“If you’re an athlete, you have to have a short memory,” he said. “This only counts as one loss in the standings.”

BUTLER 25

Alyssa Eyth 6 0-0 12, Kylee Lewandowski 1 0-1 2, Jordan Kauffman 0 2-2 2, Jenna Kunst 3 2-2 9, Nicole Pepmeyer 0 0-0 0, Audrey Hilliard 0 0-0 0, Mia Rader 0 0-0 0, Sydney Hanratty 0 0-0 0, Morgan Gage 0 0-0 0, Julia Gibson 0 0-0 0, Emilee Altman 0 0-0 0, Heidi Gross 0 0-0 0. Totals: 10 4-5 25.

PINE-RICHLAND 66

Megan Luellen 1 0-0 2, Kayla Graf 1 0-0 3, Caitlyn Byerly 1 1-2 4, Gianna DeTemple 3 0-0 7, Callie Polce 1 0-2 2, Taylor Brenner 3 0-0 8, Kenzie Jenkins 4 0-0 10, Amanda Kalin 6 3-5 18, Anna Jurkovic 5 2-2 12. Totals: 25 6-11 66.

Butler 2 10 9 4 — 25

Pine-Richland26 12 16 12 — 66

3-point goals: Butler 1 (Kunst); Pine-Richland 10 (Kalin 3, Jenkins 2, Brenner 2, DeTemple, Byerly, Graf).

Thursday: North Allegheny at Butler