JACKSON TWP — Seneca Valley succeeded in containing Butler sophomore Olivia Bresnahan.

But that opened the door for Kayla Gilliland.

The senior forward led all scorers with 21 points as the Golden Tornado extended their winning streak to 19 games with a 53-44 girls basketball win at Seneca Valley Monday night.

The points were a career high for Gilliland and she added 11 rebounds.

Bresnahan scored 15 points and was the only Butler player to reach double figures when the two teams met Dec. 17 — a 48-45 Butler win.

"Most of Bresnahan's points come off the dribble," said SV coach Kelly Mathews. "So we wanted to take the paint away from her, and I think we did a good job of that.

"But (Gilliland) killed us."

While Bresnahan was held to eight points Monday and only one field goal in the first three quarters, Gilliland scored at least four points in every quarter, saving her best for last.

The Tornado (20-1, 9-0), who have clinched a WPIAL Quad A playoff berth and are nearing a section championship, led 37-27 when the fourth period began.

SV was forced to press Butler, but the Tornado often broke the press and Gilliland was wide open in the paint. She delivered eight points in the final period to keep the Raiders at a safe distance.

"Kayla was definitely the difference tonight," said Butler coach Dorothea Epps. "We've evolved into a team that has different girls stepping up to hit big shots every game.

"At the beginning of the season, it was Olivia carrying the offense," Epps added.

Gilliland hit the winning shot in Butler's 50-48 win over Shaler Thursday.

"That buzzer-beater really boosted my confidence," she said. "I had been struggling before that."

In Monday's game, the Tornado turned the ball over on three straight possessions early in the fourth quarter, but the Raiders (6-12, 4-6) were only able to cut their deficit to 39-31.

A bucket by Bresnahan helped to stop any momentum the Raiders had attained, and, with 4:29 left, Gilliland's conventional three-point play put Butler up 46-34.

Kelsey Patsilevas' 3-pointer with 2:17 left cut Butler's lead to 48-41, but that was as close as the Raiders would get.

The Tornado committed 19 turnovers.

"I don't like the turnovers," said Epps. "But we are a running team and turnovers are going to happen. I think eight of the ones we had tonight were unforced, where we just threw the ball away."

Butler outrebounded SV 35-20, but that was not first and foremost of Mathews' mind.

"We also turned the ball over 23 times," she said. "There's a lot of things you can point to as to why we've struggled this season."

Patsilevas led SV with 14 points and Aly Eagle added 10.

The Raiders have North Hills and Shaler remaining on their section schedule.

"To guarantee a playoff spot, we have to win both games," said Mathews.

As for Butler, it has Pine-Richland, North Allegheny and New Castle standing between it and a perfect section record.

"We're taking it one game at a time," said Gilliland. "We're just thinking about Pine-Richland right now."

BUTLER 53Lyndsy Day 4 4-4 13, Olivia Bresnahan 3 2-6 8, Erica Miller 1 0-2 2, Kayla Gilliland 9 3-7 21, Casie Cygan 3 2-3 9, Katherine Sylvia 0 0-1 0, Jenna Manuel 0 0-0 0, Rachel Doutt 0 0-0 0, Karissa King 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 20 11-23 53.

SENECA VALLEY 44Aly Eagle 5 0-0 10, Megan Gebrosky 2 3-6 7, Kelsey Patsilevas 6 0-0 14, Shayna Elser 1 0-1 2, Jackie Mangola 4 0-0 9, Catherine Messmer 0 2-4 2, Alyssa Miller 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 18 5-11 44.

Butler 11 14 12 16—53Seneca Valley 11 6 10 17—443-point goals: Butler 2 (Day, Cygan); Seneca Valley 3 (Patsilevas 2, Mangola).

Wednesday: Seneca Valley at Taylor Allderdice

Thursday: Pine-Richland at Butler