PITTSBURGH — Forget about Friday.

Butler bowlers Nicole Nebel and Chris Huff did a good job of that over the weekend — and helped produce a memorable Saturday for the Butler High School bowling team.

Nebel and Huff bounced back from disappointing singles rounds Friday at Princess Lanes to lead all girls and boys, respectively, in the team qualifying round Saturday at the Pa. Western Regional at the same house.

Butler's girls wound up winning the Western Regional title while the Golden Tornado boys finished second to Armstrong. Both teams advance to the state tournament this Saturday, also at Princess Lanes.

“I'm so proud of both of those kids,” Butler bowling coach Bob Cupp said. “Those were tremendous bounce-back efforts.”

Nebel finished 41st in Western Regional girls singles Friday. Her high game in the five-game set was a 194 that day, but she ended the day with a 120.

She shot a 583 in the three-game team qualifying round Saturday, rolling games of 223, 181 and 179. The next highest score in the 18-team field was Marissa Maciejewski of Gateway with a 561.

“I thought about what I did Friday and decided to go onto Saturday with a clear mind,” Nebel said. “This is my senior year and I was gonna do whatever it took to help my team win.

“I slowed everything down, thought about my spares, didn't rush through it. I stood on the approach longer than I usually do.”

Butler's three-game team score was 2,568. Jordyn Graham rolled a 528, Ashley McCue a 511, Abby Kyle 509 and Mercedes Belch 437. McCue and Belch qualified for this Friday's state singles last Friday night.

Following two sets of baker games, the Tornado's team score of 3,504 was second to McDowell's 3,542. Both teams earned byes into the semifinals.

Butler lost its first baker game to Plum, 165-136, then squeaked out a 135-130 decision in Game 2 before rolling to a 175-123 win in Game 3 to reach the finals vs. McDowell.

“This was a long two days and our girls were exhausted,” Cupp said. “They were losing their shot early against Pum, then found it again late.”

Butler split the first two games with McDowell before winning the title-deciding third game, 219-155. This is the second region team title in team history. The other occurred in 2012, when the Tornado went on to win the state title.

“That's a good sign,” Cupp said.

On the boys side, Huff rolled games of 221, 202 and 181 for a 604 series in team qualifying. C.J. Turek of Norwin was next highest among the 18 teams with a 594.

Huff had rolled a 106 in his third game Friday night before declining to roll the final two games of the five-game single set.

“He was feeling ill that night. Chris decided to shut it down and give whatever he had to the team on Saturday,” Cupp said.

Jordan Reges rolled a 571, Cole Thrash a 557 for the Butler boys. Brad Shirley, Trey Barto, Ed Augustine and Zac Twentier also contributed to the squad.

After the two baker games, Butler's 3,583 was second to Franklin Regional's 3,646. The Tornado swept Ambridge in the semifinals, then lost 2-1 to Armstrong in the finals. Butler forced a third game with a 203-151 win, then lost the deciding contest 192-160.

“We were leading in the seventh frame, but Armstrong got hot and closed us out,” Cupp said.

The top six boys and girls teams from the regional advance to the state meet.

“We're very confident going in,” Nebel said. “We felt like we had something to prove Saturday and we did it.

“Now teams from the East have to come here and they won't know what to expect.”