BUTLER TWP — Playoff atmosphere was sought and gained. So was a 16th consecutive victory.

Butler's varsity girls basketball team used a stellar fourth quarter to turn away Woodland Hills, 69-57, Saturday afternoon in the Golden Tornado's final non-section game of the regular season.

The score was tied seven times and the lead changed hands eight times in the game's first 19 minutes.

"It was gut-check time. We wanted to see where our girls were at mentally this late in the season,"Butler coach Dorothea Epps said. "That's why we scheduled this game.

"We knew Woodland Hills was gonna be good this year. We knew they'd test us in a lot of ways on both ends of the floor."

Butler (17-1) entered the game having allowed 50 or more points only four times all season. The Wolverines (12-5) scored 51 on the Tornado in the first three quarters.

"Nobody does that to us. But that's how athletic they are,"Epps said.

Woodland Hills' final lead of the game was at 35-33 with 7:03 left in the third quarter. Butler forced the final tie of the game on a driving lay-up by Erica Miller seconds later.

Five of the Tornado's next six buckets were 3-pointers — three from sophomore Casie Cygan, one from Lyndsy Day, another from Miller — as Butler built an eight-point lead.

The margin was only 54-51 entering the final quarter. Woodland Hills managed just one field goal in the final eight minutes as Butler pulled away.

The 12-point final margin was Butler's biggest of the day.

"We went to a 1-3-1 zone, forced a couple of turnovers and got points off them,"Epps said of the fourth quarter. "We doubled down on (Nakia)DeBlanc and Erica did a good job with our box on Jamie Smith."

Woodland Hills returns all five starters from its WPIALplayoff team of a year ago. Smith, the Wolverines' point guard, is being recruited by St. Peter's (NY)and Ohio University. DeBlanc, a 6-foot-2 senior center, is headed to North Carolina A&T, where New Castle graduate Jaleesa Sams now plays.

Smith scored 21 points and DeBlanc had 17 points and 11 rebounds in defeat.

"This was playoffs to us,"Woodland Hills coach Korie Morton-Rozier said. "We need to get used to playing in these types of games.

"We play a tough schedule to get into games like this."

The 69 points Butler scored marked the most Woodland Hills has allowed an opponent this season. Cygan scored 16 points, grabbed five rebounds and sank four treys for the Tornado.

The 5-6 sophomore guard out-did her production in the junior varsity contest, when she scored 10 points.

"With young shooters like that, sometimes they'll go into a shell and won't shoot anymore if you yell at them about a bad shot,"Epps said.

"Casie took a bad shot at the end of the first half. I let her know about it, but she still came out firing in the second half. That's what shooters have to do."

Day contributed 16 points and five rebounds for Butler while Olivia Bresnahan had 14 points and 11 boards. Woodland Hills had a 48-42 edge in rebounds overall.

The Wolverines sank one of 14 shots from the field in the final quarter and hit just 20 of 66 shots in the game.

"We didn't shoot well and it hurt us,"Morton-Rozier said.

The teams combined to commit 42 personal fouls in a physical game.

"I had no problem with the officiating,"Morton-Rozier said. "Those guys weren't bad."

Butler's junior varsity remained unbeaten on the year with a 53-34 triumph.

WOODLAND HILLS 57Jamie Smith 8-30 3-6 21, Kristin Gates 4-11 2-2 12, Amanda Garland 0-1 1-2 1, JeQuaia Willis 1-4 0-0 2, Nakia DeBlanc 5-16 7-11 17, Miquel Price-Wheeler 0-2 0-0 0, Alicia Smith 2-2 0-0 4, Courtney Tompkins 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals: 20-66 13-21 57

BUTLER 69Lyndsy Day 6-9 1-2 16, Olivia Brenahan 4-9 6-15 14, Karissa King 0-2 0-0 0, Erica Miller 3-6 2-2 9, Kayla Gilliland 1-2 3-3 5, Katherine Sylvia 0-1 0-0 0, Casie Cygan 6-12 0-0 16, Rachel Doutt 1-2 0-0 2, Jenna Manuel 2-11 3-3 7.

Totals: 23-54 15-25 69

Woodland Hills 14 19 18 6—57Butler 14 19 21 15—693-point goals: Smith 2, Gates 2; Day 3, Miller, Cygan 4

JV: Butler, 53-34 (B:Rachel Doutt 11, Casie Cygan 10)

Monday: Butler at North Hills