PLUMBORO— The quick start didn't fool Dorothea Epps.

The Butler girls basketball coach watched her team jump out to an 11-2 lead Friday night at Plum, but didn't like what she was seeing.

"We didn't have our legs tonight,"Epps said. "We're usually strong with the ball, but we were bobbling passes, losing possession — I knew we were going to have a tough time."

The Golden Tornado (17-1, 10-0) fell behind three times in the first half, trailed by a point at halftime and led by only two with 5:53 remaining before posting a 56-48 victory.

The varsity game began at 6 p.m. as Plum's boys played Penn Hills afterward. The Butler-Plum junior varsity game was played later Friday night in another gym.

"There's been nothing normal about this week,"Epps said. "Because of the snow, we haven't practiced since Monday. We could only do a light walk-through Thursday because we didn't have our basketball legs.

"We get off the bus tonight and our varsity's on the floor right away. Early in the second quarter, our girls were sucking wind. We just weren't there tonight."

Thankfully for the Tornado, their defense was there as usual.

Butler trailed 21-20 at halftime, but outscored the Mustangs 17-8 in the third quarter, forcing 10 turnovers. Plum (5-15) had 25 turnovers in the game.

"They've been a problem for us,"Plum coach Bernie Pucka said of turnovers. "We didn't have as many in the first half, but (Butler) seemed to turn it up a notch after that."

Consecutive layups by Casie Cygan gave Butler its biggest lead of the night at 36-25 with 1:58 left in the third quarter.

An 8-0 run by Plum, highlighted by 3-pointers from Katla Kruszka and Kate Griffin, pulled the Mustangs within 40-38 with 5:53 left in the game.

"They believed they could beat us and they kept fighting,"Epps said.

Jenna Manuel sank a trey with 4:15 to go, giving the Tornado a 47-40 lead. When Kruszka scored on a fastbreak layup, Plum trailed 52-46 and called timeout with 1:12 left.

On the ensuing Butler inbounds play, Olivia Bresnahan got behind the defense, caught the pass in stride at midcourt and drove for a layup.

She was fouled on the play, converted the free throw and Butler had a nine-point lead with 1:08 to play.

Bresnahan had 26 points, eight steals and five assists.

"She's fantastic, the best player I've seen this year,"Pucka said. "A girl that tall who can handle the ball like that, she just dribbles right through people."

Manuel had 14 points, including three 3-pointers, and six rebounds. Cygan had 10 points and six boards.

"Without being able to practice, we weren't prepared for this game,"Manuel admitted. "We knew we had to suck it up and play better in the second half."

Kruszka paced Plum with 19 points before fouling out in the game's final minute. Griffin had 18 points and eight rebounds.

Having already clinched its section title, Butler is playing for one of the top two seeds in the upcoming WPIALClass AAAAtournament, battling unbeaten Mount Lebanon and 18-1 Bethel Park for those positions.

"We can't afford to lose if we want to stay in the top two,"Epps said.

BUTLER 56Casey Fleeger 0 1-2 1, Katresa Savisky 0-1 0-0 0, Oliva Bresnahan 8 10-16 26, Amanda Dymun 0 1-2 1, Ali Sedwick 0 0-0 0, Casie Cygan 3 4-11 10, Rachel Doutt 2 0-2 4, Jenna Manuel 5 1-4 14. Totals: 18 17-37 56

PLUM 48Michelle Proviano 1 0-0 2, Kate Griffin 6 4-4 18, Kayla Kruszka 8 1-2 19, Becky Anderson 0 0-0 0, Taylor Adams 2 3-6 7, Lindsay Deemer 0 2-2 2. Totals: 17 10-14 48

Butler 12 8 17 19—56Plum 6 15 8 19—483-point goals: Manuel 3; Griffin 2, Kruszka 2

Monday: Moon at Butler