BUTLER TWP— Two games, two goals, one whiteout.

Fans are encouraged to wear white to the New Castle-Butler basketball doubleheader Friday night in the Golden Tornado gym.

The Tornado players hope they don't leave the gym seeing red. Butler's girls and boys have different, but important, goals to achieve when they take the floor.

• The girls (22-1, 11-0) hope to polish off their first unbeaten section season since 1988. New Castle's girls (16-4, 9-2)pulled off a 12-0 section campaign a year ago.

• The boys (12-8, 5-6) can clinch their first WPIAL playoff berth since 2000 with a win over the Red Hurricanes (7-14, 3-8).

The girls varsity game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., followed by the boys varsity contest.

"It's very difficult to go unbeaten in any section,"New Castle girls coach Luann Grybowski said. "It's a monumental achievement."

It's also one the 'Canes would love to spoil after dropping a 47-42 decision to Butler at home on Jan. 8 in a battle of section unbeatens. New Castle blew a four-point lead down the stretch in that game.

"We gave them some open shots and, to their credit, they made them,"Grybowski said. "We have to play better defense this time.

"I feel like we can adjust to the flow of any game, but we would prefer to play up-tempo."

While Tasia Wise (14 points per game) and Logan Hartman (12 ppg) top the 'Canes in scoring, the Tornado's points have come from all directions.

Sophomore guard Olivia Bresnahan averages 15 points per game and fellow sophomore Casie Cygan has struck for 30 3-pointers. Jenna Manuel, Lyndsy Day and Erica Miller are in double figures in treys as well.

Center Kayla Gilliland has produced big scoring and rebounding games when needed, joining Bresnahan in complementing the outside game.

"That's what I love about this team,"Butler coach Dorothea Epps said. "It's somebody different every night and you never know who it's gonna be.

"But we're a defensive team first. The team buys into it and we demand it. A lot of our points are generated by our defense."

Butler surrenders only 42.7 points per game and leads the section with 60 points per contest. The Tornado, who carry a 21-game winning streak into Friday's game, have held seven opponents under 40 points and only six foes have scored as many as 50.

Assistant coach Julie Baccanti was a freshman on the 1988 Butler team that posted a perfect section record. Lisa Dudek, one of the program's all-time top scorers, was a senior on that squad.

"Lisa was a great player, very polished,"Baccanti recalled. "She had 30 points and 30 rebounds in a game that year. We have no one who's going to do anything like that.

"Olivia is very good, but she's young, she's still developing. Today's game is faster and the players are stronger."

She said the current Tornado team uses its quickness well.

"Our girls are aggressive and put tremendous pressure on the ball,"Baccanti said.

While Butler boys coach Joe Lewandowski is trying to get his team into the playoffs, he respects what the girls have accomplished.

"Dorothea is such a hard worker,"he said. "I'm not surprised by the success they're having. This is a great team because they have a lot of girls who can do a lot of things."

New Castle's boys defeated Butler, 62-54, in overtime on Jan. 8 as a Christos Klutinoty layup at the end of regulation rolled off the rim. Klutinoty will likely remain sidelined by a knee injury Friday night.

The 'Canes enter the contest on a five-game losing streak.

"But they've got good players who have played a lot of basketball,"Lewandowski said. "(Nick)Colella is a three-year starter. Mike Andrews and Chris Richards are two-year starters."

The 6-foot-4 Andrews had 20 points and seven rebounds, Colella 12 points and eight boards against Butler in the previous game. Mike Pratkanis, one of the Tornado's leading scorers and rebounders, did not play.

This will be the final Butler-New Castle section game for at least two years as the 'Canes are moving to Class AAAnext season.

"Hey, if we win, we're in. This is what we want,"Lewandowski said. "It's a big rival game at our place, a doubleheader, and the atmosphere should be fantastic. What more could we ask for?"