Tourney turns into slugfest
AMBRIDGE — Seven lead changes. Six ties. Neither team ever had a double-digit lead.
Butler and Peters Township exchanged punches all night.
When the swinging stopped, the Indians kept scoring. The Golden Tornado didn't and Peters Township escaped with a 53-51 overtime victory in a WPIAL Class AAAgirls basketball quarterfinal Friday night at Ambridge High.
The Indians sank 13 of 17 free throws. Butler connected on just eight of 19.
"Our free throw shooting bit us tonight,"Tornado coach Dorothea Epps said. "It's just a mental thing with us right now. ... If we make our foul shots, we win this game in regulation."
Butler (23-3) had the biggest lead of the game at 17-8 early in the second quarter, only to see Peters Township (19-7) score 14 of the quarter's final 18 points.
The Indians' biggest lead was 29-25 and Butler swallowed that up with a 10-0 run, sparked by midcourt steals and transition layups by sophomores Olivia Bresnahan and Casie Cygan.
Butler took a 37-33 lead into the final quarter and led 44-41 with 3:11 to play before Maura Lacey stuck back an offensive rebound and sank two free throws to give Peters Township a 45-44 edge with 1:46 remaining.
Bresnahan missed two free throws with 49 seconds left, then missed the front end of a one-and-one with 13.9 seconds to go. Peters Township's Emily Mathis sank one of two free throws with 10 seconds left to give the Indians a 46-44 advantage.
"Free throws and rebounds, free throws and rebounds — we stress that to our girls all the time,"said Peters Township coach Dennis Squeglia. "That's what wins close basketball games."
Bresnahan grabbed the rebound of the errant Mathis free throw and found Cygan streaking toward the basket. Cygan laid in the tying shot two seconds before time expired.
"Our girls fought and scrapped so hard all year,"Epps said. "That was just another example of that."
The game was tied at 48 when Cygan missed the front end of a one-and-one with 1:12 left in overtime. But the Indians turned the ball over and 6-foot-3 center Emily Correal, a Division I prospect who led her team with 20 points and 12 rebounds, fouled out with 42.9 seconds left.
Jenna Manuel sank one of two free throws for Butler and Squeglia called a timeout."I just wanted to settle everything down,"he said. "Emily fouled out late against Fox Chapel (in the previous playoff game) and we found a way to win. Our girls were still confident. We just had to take care of the ball and make some plays."Enter Lacey.The senior forward stuck back an offensive rebound with 18 seconds left, but the Tornado answered when Katherine Sylvia beat the defense down the floor and laid in a shot with 12 seconds to go, giving Butler a 51-50 lead."Crazy things can happen in transition, especially in a situation like that,"Squeglia said.No need to tell Epps that.Lacey beat the Butler defense to the basket, laid the shot in and was fouled with six seconds to go. She sank the free throw for a 53-51 Indians lead.Bresnahan received the inbounds pass and hustled down the floor. She got off a baseline jumper at the buzzer that deflected short off the rim."We didn't pick everybody up defensively on their last trip and (Lacey) got free,"Epps said. "She made the plays that beat us."I don't need to make excuses for Olivia, but she's been sick all day. She's fighting the flu and she could barely breathe in the last two minutes, but she wanted to be out there. That girl is a gamer."Bresnahan led Butler with 15 points and seven rebounds. Cygan added 13 points and Manuel had six boards.Peters Township didn't have Correal at the end, but the Indians had Lacey. The latter scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds."Maura is a Division I soccer recruit, headed to Pitt, and she's played in (soccer) state championship games,"Squeglia said. "She's used to big-game atmosphere and she wanted the ball at the end."The Indians had a 32-28 edge in rebounding and had 21 turnovers to Butler's 18. Peters Township turned the ball over on each of its first five possessions and trailed 12-4 after the first quarter.The Tornado will qualify for the PIAATournament if Peters Township upsets No. 2 seed Mount Lebanon in the WPIALsemifinals.<B>PETERS TOWNSHIP 53Maura Lacey 4-8 5-6 13, Maddie Miller 1-3 0-0 2, Emily Mathis 2-7 1-2 5, Carol Sternweis 1-2 0-0 2, Lexi Kamphaus 2-5 0-1 6, Emily Correal 7-13 6-6 20, Samantha Higgins 2-4 1-2 5. </B>Totals: 19-42 13-17 53<B>BUTLER 51Olivia Bresnahan 6-12 3-8 15, Karissa King 3-7 0-0 8, Katherine Sylvia 2-3 0-0 4, Erica Miller 1-2 2-4 4, Casie Cygan 5-8 2-3 13, Rachel Doutt 0-0 0-0 0, Jenna Manuel 1-8 1-2 3, Kayla Gilliland 2-7 0-0 4.</B> Totals: 20-47 8-19 51<B>Peters Township 4 18 11 13 7—53Butler 12 9 16 9 5—513-point goals:</B> Kamphaus 2; King 2, Cygan
