BUTLER TWP — A tough road for Butler's girls basketball team became even more daunting this week.

It began with a Section 1-6A loss to Seneca Valley on Monday. The next day in practice, senior guard Jordan Kauffman was lost, presumably for the rest of the season, to a knee injury.

The Golden Tornado had a chance to quell the disappointment with a crucial win in Thursday's section contest against Fox Chapel. But, leading by a point, they failed to score in the final 90 seconds in a 56-51 loss on their home floor.

It is Butler's sixth consecutive loss and fifth straight setback in section play.

“It takes its toll on me and if the girls care about winning, which I know they do, they're going home mad tonight,” said Butler coach Mark Maier. “But teenagers are more resilient than me. They'll come back and get ready for the next one.”

“Butler has talent and they are well-coached,” said first-year Fox Chapel coach Marty Matvey. “We told our girls that even though Jordan was out, they were going to play the same way.”

Butler's final lead of the game came when Emma Monteleone rebounded a Fox Chapel miss, drove the length of the court and laid in two points for a 51-50 edge with just under two minutes left.

The Foxes (8-5, 4-4) didn't answer until Ellie Schwartzman's bucket put them up 52-51 with 35 seconds remaining. The Golden Tornado then turned the ball over on two straight possessions, the second coming with eight seconds left and trailing 54-51.

Schwartzman drained two free throws at the other end to finish off Butler's chances.

“We wanted to get a shot off and then turn the ball over,” said Maier. “It's every possession, we tell the girls. Whether it's rebound, set a screen, assist, steal ... do something well on every possession.”

Even without Kauffman, a potent shooter from the outside, Butler (5-8, 2-6) made six of its 13 attempts from beyond the arc.

Several players stepped up to keep Butler's hopes alive. Hailey Metzger scored a game-high 17, all in the first half. Her trey just before the halftime buzzer cut Fox Chapel's lead to 32-31.

Sarayne Forbes picked up the slack in the second half when she scored 11 of her 15 points. Monteleone scored above her average with 11 points.

“It was a very winnable game,” said Maier, “but rebounding killed us. It seemed like they (Foxes) got a million second shots.”

Another thing that led to Butler's defeat was Fox Chapel's effort at the free throw line. Domenica Delaney was 10 for 10 and the Foxes were 15 of 17 as a team.

“That's the best we've done from the line this year,” said Matvey. “Domenica was shooting 84 percent before tonight.”

Delaney led her team with 15 points, Gabby Guererri sank three treys and scored 13 points and freshman Elsie Smith came off the bench to contribute 12.

Butler defeated the Foxes 58-51 last month. A loss to the Golden Tornado Thursday and Matvey's team would have been behind the 8-ball because of the head-to-head tiebreaker.

“This was the biggest game of our season,” he said.

Maier is not optimistic about Kauffman returning to the court. She was on crutches Thursday.

“It was a non-contact injury,” he said. “We're not sure exactly what the injury is, but Jordan is a tough girl and she was in a lot of pain. I can't imagine any way that she'll be back.”

Butler hosts a non-section game against Plum on Saturday before hosting section foe Shaler Monday.

FOX CHAPEL 56

Domenica Delaney 2 10-10 15, Gabby Guererri 5 0-0 13, Claire Fenton 1 0-0 2, Marissa Ritter 1 0-0 3, Ellie Schwartzman 3 3-4 9, Elsie Smith 5 2-3 12, Allison Hager 1 0-0 2, Sammi Dunlap 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 15-17 56.

BUTLER 51

Sarayne Forbes 6 1-2 15, Emma Monteleone 4 2-4 11, Ali Altman 1 2-5 4, Hailey Metzger 6 2-2 17, Makenna Maier 0 2-2 2, Aubree Tack 0 2-2 2, Hannah Aldridge 0 0-0 0, Macklin Hanley 0 0-0 0, Anna Michalek 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 11-17 51.

Fox Chapel 16 16 11 13 — 56

Butler17 14 12 8 — 51

3-point goals: Fox Chapel 5 (Guererri 3, Ritter, Delaney); Butler 6 (Metzger 3, Forbes 2, Monteleone).

Saturday: Plum at Butler