JACKSON TWP - The Butler girls basketball team had confidence it could come back.

The Golden Tornado then went out and made it happen.

Trailing Seneca Valley 22-15 at halftime, Butler used a tenacious defense and a 19–of-25 performance from the free throw line in the second half to hand the Raiders their first section loss of the season with a 50-42 decision Monday.

"This says that we have a lot of character on this basketball team," said Golden Tornado coach Dorothea Epps. "Playing a good team with a lot of height like Seneca, and coming back like we did, it was really big for us.

"Even when we were down, the girls knew we could still win," Epps added.

Butler senior point guard Kelly Miller led all scorers with 22 points, including 10 points at the free throw line in the final period. She also added five assists.

"What we needed in the second half was defense and we didn't get it," said Raiders coach Todd Schoeffel. "Instead of our girls stepping up to help on (Miller), we fouled her instead. She attempted 19 free throws in the second half. We can't let one player beat us like that."

With Butler leading 46-39 with 1:04 left to play, Miller missed the back end of a one-and-one, but the rebound went to the Golden Tornado. Seven seconds later, Miller went back to the line where she drained both shots to give her team a commanding 48-39 advantage with under a minute to play.

Other players contributed to Butler's surge.

Ashley Nocera, who scored eight points, drained a 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer to put the Golden Tornado up 35-31.

"We noticed that (Seneca) was sagging in the paint on defense," said Epps. "And we needed to hit some shots from the outside to draw them out. (Nocera's) 3-pointer was a big shot."

The second half saw the Raiders make just five of 18 field goal attempts.

"We began to pressure their guards in the second half," said Epps. "And we were getting some big rebounds."

Butler's Samantha Karns added seven points and seven rebounds in the win.

The first quarter was a circus of turnovers and missed shots, as both squads managed just six points each.

Seneca Valley junior shooting guard Tina Mangola put an end to her team's erratic play with three 3-point goals in the final three minutes of the first half, giving the Raiders (8-5, 4-1) the seven-point cushion at halftime.

"(Butler) came out in a zone defense and we were able to move the ball well against it," said Schoeffel. "Unfortunately, in the second half, they pressured us and we didn't get many good looks at the basket."

Butler (8-6, 2-2) committed just five turnovers in the second half after 12 in the first two quarters.

Mangola led Seneca Valley with 13 points, while Chelsey Pavlick and Amanda Johnson each tallied 10.

BUTLER 50

Kelly Miller 4 14-19 22, Amy Achesinski 2 1-2 5, Ashley Nocera 3 0-0 8, Julie Erhman 2 1-2 6, Samantha Karns 1 5-6 7, Rachel Barry 1 0-0 2, Michelle Ritchey 0 0-0 0, Maria Baroffio 0 0-0 0, Liz Schultz 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 21-29 50.

SENECA VALLEY 42

Courtney Grootegoed 1 0-0 3, Val Johnson 0 1-2 1, Kelsey Spencer 1 1-2 3, Chelsey Pavlick 2 6-8 10, Tina Mangola 4 2-3 13, Amanda Johnson 3 4-9 10, Ashley Turici 1 0-0 2, Laura Ness 0 0-0 0, Ryan Ingrassia 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12 14-24 42.

3-point goals:

Nocera 2, Erhman; Mangola 3, Grootegoed.

JV:

Butler 55-32 (B-Kelley Crater 11 points; SV-Courtney Grootegoed 9).

Wednesday:

North Allegheny @ Butler

Thursday:

New Castle @ Seneca Valley