PINE TWP — For three quarters, the Butler girls basketball team was in control of Thursday's game against Pine-Richland.

The fourth quarter and overtime? Well, that was a different matter.

With the Tornado holding a 15-point lead late in the third quarter, the Rams outscored Butler 18-3 over the final 10:24 in regulation to force overtime and went on to post a 47-44 overtime victory in a key Section 3-AAAA matchup.

Butler had two 3-point attempts in both the closing seconds of regulation and overtime, but all of them failed.

Erica Miller and Amy Achesinski misfired in regulation, and shots by Maria Baroffio and Karissa King hit the rim and kicked away in overtime.

"We have four seniors out there and our section is tough," said Butler coach Dorothea Epps. "The bottom line is we didn't handle the ball against the trap. We turned the ball over, missed the front end of foul shots and we didn't look at our defensive schemes.

"We played not to lose," Epps added.

"The kids stepped up big," said Rams coach Sherri McConnell. "That's the kids playing defense. We were talking about finding a way to win. It's not pretty, but it's a win."

The Tornado (16-5, 6-4) erased an early 6-4 deficit by going on a 15-3 run to take a 21-9 lead with 3:36 left before halftime.

Butler grew a 27-16 halftime advantage into a 37-22 lead with 2:39 left in the third quarter before the Rams began to mount their comeback.

The Rams scored five consecutive points before Butler's Rachel Barry broke the string with a score, which gave her a team-high 12 points, to make it 39-27 Butler.

The Rams' Sydney Wilson sandwiched a pair of layups around a free throw by Achesinski, who scored 11 points, to make it 40-31 with 5:30 remaining.

However, that was about the time the Butler shooting went cold, and the Tornado failed to score over the next eight minutes.

When Tricia Adamczyk, who had 12 points in the game, drained a 3-pointer with 2:19 left, the Rams (11-10, 6-4) trailed 40-36. Then, Katie Wise had a running layup with 1:12 left to make it a two-point contest.

Butler, trying to milk the clock, continued to pass the ball, with Pine-Richland having to commit three fouls before sending the Tornado to the line.

Finally, with 28.4 seconds left, Butler had a chance to break its drought, but Baroffio missed the front end of a one-and-one.

The Rams got the rebound and Wise made another layup with 13 seconds left to tie the game.

"We didn't score for a long time," said Epps. "We knew they'd make a run, but as long as we scored, that's OK."

In overtime, Wilson and Carolyn Steger scored to give the Rams a four-point lead with 2:17 left.

Again, Baroffio missed the front end of a one-and-one, but she scored off the Butler rebound.

After the teams traded a pair of free throws each, Emma Richert, who recorded 12 points in the game, made one of two free throws with 18 seconds left to keep it a one-possession game, but the Tornado's couldn't force a second overtime.

The loss drops Butler into a tie with Pine-Richland for second or third place, depending on the outcome of the Shaler game.

"I've been selling the kids the idea that we have to work our way into the playoffs," said Epps. "I'm disappointed we did not pull out this game. There's too many senior leaders."

BUTLER 44Rachel Barry 6 0-0 12, Olivia Bresnahan 3 0-1 6, Elizabeth Schultz 3 0-0 6, Amy Achesinski 3 5-6 11, Maria Baroffio 1 0-2 2, Karissa King 0 0-0 0, Erica Miller 1 0-0 3, Kayla Gilliland 2 0-0 4.

Totals: 19 5-9 44.

PINE-RICHLAND 47Katie Wise 4 1-2 10, Chelsea Young 1 0-2 2, Sydney Wilson 4 1-2 9, Emma Richert 4 3-4 12, Tricia Adamczyk 5 0-1 12, Tori Pikur 0 0-0 0, Carolyn Steger 1 0-0 2. Emily Karr 0 0-0 0, Christin Bridge 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 19 5-11 47.

Butler 9 18 10 3 4—44Pine-Richland 6 10 9 15 7—473-point goals: Miller; Adamczyk 2, Wise, Richert

JV: Butler, 41-19 (B:Kayla Gilliland 14, Katherine Sylvia 10)

Monday: Butler at North Allegheny