BUTLER TWP — From two-time defending state champion to starting over.

Such is the Mercyhurst Prep girls basketball team, and Butler exploited the situation Friday night during the first round of the Butler Tip-Off Tournament.

The Golden Tornado forced six turnovers in the first three minutes, jumped out to a 9-0 lead and never trailed in posting a 40-34 victory.

Butler will face Bethel Park — a 48-40 winner over Gateway — in the tournament championship game Saturday night.

"They did a lot of different things defensively that our girls just weren't ready for," Lakers coach Karin Ryan said of Butler. "It took us a while to settle down."

After winning the PIAA Class AAA title the past two years, Mercyhurst Prep started one senior, Kristen Fournier, a junior, a sophomore and two freshmen.

"Mercyhurst likes to run the backcourt cut offensively," Butler coach Dorothea Epps said. "We spent a lot of time in practice working on defending it.

"Our girls took that play away from them. … We created a lot of problems for them."

Butler built a 19-9 lead with 3:19 left in the first half, only to watch the Lakers pull to within 21-17 by halftime.

The Tornado scored the first seven points of the second half, as guard Lyndsy Day fueled the run. She sank one free throw, missed the second shot, grabbed the rebound and dished off to Elizabeth Schultz for an easy layup.

Still, a fast-break layup by sophomore Lindsay Moore pulled the Lakers to within 30-26 with 5:52 left in the game.

"That program has a lot of pride and they weren't gonna go away," Epps said. "They came right back at us, so it was important that we got right back at them."

Junior center Amy Achesinski, who sat during much of the middle two quarters in foul trouble, converted layups on consecutive possessions to help push Butler's lead to 37-28 with 3:30 left.

Mercyhurst Prep never threatened again.

"Our offense runs entirely differently with Amy in there," said Epps about Achesinski, who led the Tornado with 13 points and four rebounds. "She's so vital to us that we kept substituting her in on offense late in the game.

Freshman Anne Ryan led the Lakers with 10 points and six rebounds. Fournier had eight points and five boards.

"This team will grow together and get better," Coach Ryan said. "It'll take a while for us to mature, but this was a good learning experience for us."

Bethel Park 48, Gateway 40 —

The Black Hawks, ranked No. 2 in WPIAL Quad-A, played without standout forward Maureen Hester, who will miss the season's first few games with a high ankle sprain.

Bethel Park — coached by former Butler mentor Jonna Burke — started five underclassmen and was led by Samantha Loadman with 17 points and Katie Kendell with 13.

Loadman was 12-for-12 at the free throw line and Kendell sank three treys. The Black Hawks trailed 18-17 at halftime and sank just 4 of 26 shots from the floor in the first two quarters.

The lead changed hands six times in the first half, but Kendell's 3-pointer seconds into the second half gave Bethel Park the lead it never lost.

Both teams had nine turnovers. Loadman had eight of 29 Black Hawk rebounds. Shayla Scott and Quiana Brown had 10 points and seven rebounds each for Gateway.

GATEWAY 40Amanda Vranka 3-6 0-0 6, Alecia Wilson 1-3 0-0 2, Ashlie Prioleau 1-8 2-2 5, Shayla Scott 4-10 2-2 10, Melanie McKay 1-2 0-0 3, Katherine Krumka 0-1 4-5 4, Quiana Brown 4-13 2-4 10. Totals: 14-43 10-13 40

BETHEL PARK 48Katie Kendell 4-12 2-4 13, Samantha Loadman 2-12 12-12 17, Erin Varley 0-6 0-0 0, Kathy Poploski 2-5 2-4 7, Kim Wilson 0-1 0-0 0, Samantha Unger 1-1 1-1 3, Bridget Bielich 3-6 2-2 8. Totals: 12-43 19-24 48

3-point goals: Prioleau, McKay; Kendell 3, Loadman, Poploski

JV: Bethel Park, 42-27

MERCYHURST PREP 34Lindsay Moore 2-3 0-1 5, Kristen Fournier 2-13 4-4 8, Kelly Nowacinski 1-2 2-2 4, Kristen Sienecki 0-0 0-1 0, Anne Ryan 5-9 0-0 10, Leanna Feeney 0-1 0-0 0, Courey Schaetzle 3-4 0-0 6, Kirsten Olowinski 0-1 1-3 1. Totals: 13-33 7-11 34

BUTLER 40Rachel Barry 0-4 3-4 3, Lyndsy Day 1-1 1-3 3, Elizabeth Schultz 2-2 0-0 4, Ashley Nocera 3-3 0-0 7, Kelly Crater 0-0 0-0 0, Amy Achesinski 6-13 1-3 13, Maria Baroffio 0-2 1-2 1, Julie Ehrman 0-3 0-0 0, Samantha Karns 2-3 1-2 5, Michelle Ritchey 2-3 0-0 4. Totals: 16-34 7-14 40

3-point goals: Moore; Nocera

JV: Butler, 30-28

Saturday: Consolation- Mercyhurst Prep vs. Gateway, 6 p.m.;

Championship- Bethel Park vs. Butler, 7:30 p.m.