BUTLER TWP — One 3-pointer can go a long way, as Butler girls basketball team found out on Thursday.

Trailing Pine-Richland by three points midway through the third quarter, The Tornado scored the next 19 points and 24 of 26 to take a commanding 19-point lead and to cruise to the 62-41 Section 3-AAAA victory.

In the span, Butler drained five 3-pointers after not recording one in the first 21-plus minutes of the game.

"As bad as we were in the first half, we were able to get in the groove," said Butler coach Dorothea Epps.

"It was disappointing because I didn't think the final score conveyed how we played," said Pine-Richland coach Joe Frank. "They just started hitting shots."

It definitely didn't start out that way for the Tornado after the Rams went on a 12-2 run to take a 12-7 lead with 34 seconds left in the first quarter.

Butler (21-1, 10-0) endured a first-half stretch that saw it sink only two field goals in 11:30 and fall behind 24-18 before outscoring the Rams 7-0 in the final two minutes to take a 25-24 lead into halftime.

A basket and two free throws by Casie Cygan and a three-point play by Olivia Bresnahan following a steal gave the Tornado some momentum heading into halftime.

In the second half, the Rams (10-10, 3-7) recaptured the lead and held a 31-28 advantage before the Tornado caught fire.

A free throw by Bresnahan and a basket by Manuel tied the game with 3:31 left. Then, Manuel's 3-pointer 50 seconds later — the Tornado's first of the night — gave Butler the lead for good.

Butler got four more treys — one by Erica Miller and another by Manuel sandwiched around two by Cygan — to put the game out of reach.

Cygan and Manuel were huge off the bench for Butler, totaling 30 points between them. Bresnahan (11) and Miller (10) also reached double figures for Butler.

"Our whole game plan was to stop Olivia," said Frank. "Once Butler started hitting, it got contagious. Their bench probably outscored our team. They're well-coached and they made the adjustments."

"That's the beauty of our team," said Epps. "It's difficult to take away all our weapons. We know teams are trying to take away Olivia, but the others stepped up."

Notes: The Rams had 12 points from Kaylee Jackson and 10 from Katie Wise. ... Both teams were impressive from the free-throw line, as the Rams converted 10 of 12 shots while Butler made 15 of 19.

PINE-RICHLAND 41Katie Wise 2 6-6 10, Kaylee Jackson 5 1-2 12, Tori Pikur 2 0-0 4, Carolyn Steger 3 0-0 6, Emily Karr 1 1-2 3, Emma Richert 2 2-2 6, Lisa Rader 0 0-0 0, Abby Altman 0 0-0 0, McDarrah Minnock 0 0-0 0, Kelly Keenan 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 15 10-12 41.

BUTLER 62Lyndsy Day 0 0-0 0, Olivia Bresnahan 4 3-5 11, Karissa King 1 0-0 2, Erica Miller 2 5-6 10, Kayla Gilliland 1 1-2 3, Katherine Sylvia 1 0-0 2, Casie Cygan 5 4-4 16, Rachel Doutt 2 0-0 4, Jenna Manuel 5 2-2 14, Ashley Onufrak 0 0-0 0, Katresa Savisky 0 0-0 0, Casey Fleeger 0 0-0 0, Becky Nowacki 0 0-0 0, Emily Wise 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 21 15-19 62.

Pine-Richland 12 12 7 10—41Butler 9 16 16 21—623-point goals: Jackson; Cygan 2, Manuel 2, Miller

JV: Butler, 52-26 (B:Jenna Manuel 14, Rachel Doutt 12, Casie Cygan 12)

Monday: Butler at North Allegheny