BUTLER TWP — Books and basketball.

C.J. Gattens carries plenty of expertise in both.

Gattens is in her third year in the Butler Area School District and works as a librarian at the Northwest Elementary School. She also took over as head coach of Butler's seventh grade girls basketball team this season.

She guided the squad to a 19-0 record, the program's first perfect season in years.

“People keep asking me that, how does a librarian coach a basketball team?,” Gattens said. “But I've got a long background in sports.

“(Butler varsity girls coach) Mark Maier asked me to coach this team and I was happy to do it. I would love to coach the seventh grade team again next year.”

There's no reason why she shouldn't.

The seventh grade Tornado scored 772 points this season — 40.7 per game — and allowed 277, or a paltry 14.6 points per contest.

Butler's closest game this season was a 25-19 win over North Allegheny Marshall. Other school districts in its section include Shaler, Seneca Valley, Pine-Richland, North Hills and Hampton. The Tornado defeated Hampton 70-14.

Quarters are six minutes long at the junior high level.

“I've never heard of a seventh grade girls team scoring 70 points in a game and I've been around sports a long time,” Gattens said. “That was incredible.

“It wasn't one girl who scored a bunch of points, either. We had nine girls score in that game.”

To learn more about C.J. Gattens, read the Butler Eagle.