BUTLER TWP — At halftime, the Butler girls basketball team trailed North Allegheny, the No. 3 ranked team in the state in Class 6A, by one point.

Things got away from the Golden Tornado in the second half as Butler scored just six points in the final two quarters, but even in the 36-21 home section loss to the Tigers Thursday night, Tornado coach Joe Lewandowski was left with some optimism.

“We're right there,” Lewandowski said. “We held them to 36 points. When you hold one of the highest-scoring teams in the WPIAL to 36 points, that's a pretty good job.”

North Allegheny (12-1, 3-1) came into the game averaging 57 points per game, but the Tigers were held to 16 at the half and 23 through three quarters.

Butler (8-4, 2-2) had an off shooting night, however, and those woes were amplified in the second half.

The Golden Tornado shot 21 percent from the floor in the game and 17 percent in the second half.

North Allegheny took advantage, outscoring Butler 20-6 in the final two quarters and 13-4 in the fourth to secure the win.

“We went cold in the second half, so what happens is your defense can only carry you so long against a really good offensive team,” Lewandowski said. “It's really hard to stop a team seven straight times down the court when your offense is struggling. You can't do it.”

Butler frustrated North Allegheny early and led 2-0 midway through the opening quarter.

Tigers' coach Spencer Stefko called a timeout during that stretch and replaced his starting five with his reserves for the rest of the quarter.

They responded and NA led 8-5 after the first quarter.

“Their biggest fans were on the bench,” Stefko said. “That's a mark of a good team. We didn't bench them just to send a message. We benched them because the kids on the bench are good and they play with energy. They played their tails off and pulled us out of a little bit of a rut.”

Butler tied it at 8-8 early in the second quarter, but could never get the lead.

Kylee Lewandowski and Jenna Kunst each scored six points to lead the Tornado.

Haley Zeise scored six of her team-leading 10 points in the fourth quarter to pace North Allegheny.

“She did a good job responding to foul trouble,” Stefko said. “I think that shows her growth as a player.”

Stefko said he could also see the growth of Butler's team.

That's why he was pleased his team was able to extend the lead in the third quarter.

“They're a ton better than they were last year,” Stefko said. “The longer they stayed close, the longer they would have believed. They're very patient; they make you guard for 45 seconds at a time. They are a rapidly improving team. They were coached to be ready to play tonight and we were not coached to be ready to play tonight. That's something that must improve.”

Butler is looking to improve its standing against the upper echelon teams, like North Allegheny.

“To the credit of the girls, man, they fought and clawed and fought and clawed,” Coach Lewandowski said. “At halftime its a one-point basketball game. We're just right there. We're right there.”

NORTH ALLEGHENY 36

Kristen Chomos 0-2 0-0 0, Audrey Lane 1-3 0-0 2, Bryan Serbin 1-3 0-0 3, Brooke Barcia 1-3 0-0 3, Courtney Roman 2-5 1-2 7, Rachel Martindale 0-6 0-0 0, Piper Morningstar 2-8 0-0 5, Dana Manz 0-1 0-0 0, Haley Zeise 4-9 2-2 10, Madelyn Fischer 3-7 0-0 6. Totals: 14-47 3-4 36.

BUTLER 21

Nicole Pepmeyer 0-0 0-0 0, Audrey Hilliard 0-0 0-0 0, Mia Rader 1-6 0-0 3, Alyssa Eyth 1-4 2-2 4, Kylee Lewandowski 2-8 0-0 6, Jenna Kunst 3-13 0-0 6, Morgan gage 0-0 0-0 0, Julia Gibson 0-2 2-2 2, Jordan Kaufman 0-0 0-0 0, Emilee Altman 0-0 0-0 0, Sydney Hanratty 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 7-34 4-4 21.

North Allegheny 8 8 7 13 — 36

Butler5 10 2 4 — 21

3-point goals: North Allegheny 5 (Serbin, Barcia, Roman 2, Morningstar); Butler 3 (Rader, Lewandowski 2)

Monday: Butler at Seneca Valley