BUTLER TWP— New Castle closed out the first half with an 8-0 run.

But it was the start of the second half that closed out Butler's 12-game winning streak and paved the way to the Lady 'Canes' 65-57 girls basketball victory Saturday afternoon.

"We talked about the first four minutes of the third quarter in our locker room at halftime,"New Castle coach Luann Grybowski said. "We thought it'd be the key to this game."

It was.

New Castle (19-2) had a 22-21 lead when freshman guard Kaylynn Waters completed a three-point play with 1:15 left in the first half. Lashauna Brothers then stuck back an offensive rebound and Shelby Rodgers drained a 3-pointer just before the buzzer.

The 'Canes headed to the locker room with a 30-21 lead.

"We wanted to play zone most of this game,"Butler coach Dorothea Epps said. "Once we got behind, we had to come out and play man-to-man.

"They're quick and tough to guard that way, but we've done it before. We've seen New Castle before. We just didn't excecute very well defensively."

New Castle opened the third quarter with a 12-4 run to grab a 42-25 lead — its biggest of the game — with five minutes left in the third quarter.

Butler (19-2) didn't get the deficit as low as eight points until Olivia Bresnahan sank a 3-pointer just before the final horn.

"This is a very big win for us,"Grybowski said. "If we weren't the No. 1 seed in Triple-Abefore this game, we certainly should be now."

New Castle's only losses are 58-56 at Ambridge and 54-49 to unbeaten Mount Lebanon at Geneva College.

The 65 points allowed by the Golden Tornado marked a season-high. Butler did not allow any opponent more than 49 points during its 12-game win streak.

"I haven't been happy with our defense for the past three games,"Epps said. "It just hasn't been at the level we need it to be.

"I think the girls could see it ... Maybe they weren't quite convinced. It's a shame we had to lose a game to realize we've got work to do."

Saturday was Butler's first loss to a Pennsylvania foe. Its only other loss is a 57-54 decision to two-time Virginia state champion Paul VIat a holiday tournament in Potomac, Md.

Epps still believes Butler will receive the No. 2 seed in Quad-Aat the WPIALplayoff meeting Tuesday night.

"This loss shouldn't hurt us,"she said. "New Castle is the top seed in Triple-A and it's our first WPIALloss. Bethel Park has two losses and is a second-place team. Norwin has four losses.

"There's a big difference between the two-seed and the three-seed. We should still be OK. We'll see."

Waters paced New Castle with 18 points and six rebounds Saturday. Rodgers added 15 points.

Bresnahan had 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Butler. Jenna Manuel contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Both teams had 14 turnovers and Butler had a 37-31 edge on the boards.

"I miss the intensity of our old section,"Grybowski said, her team dropping to Class AAA this season. "Where we are now, it's not the same.

"This is great basketball. Even when we were up by 17, I knew it wasn't enough. I blinked an eye and it was down to 10."

NEWCASTLE65Shelby Rodgers 5-10 2-2 15, Kaylynn Waters 6-14 5-7 18, Jazelle Dennis 3-7 2-4 8, Jania McPhatter 3-6 0-0 7, Lynette Fish 1-1 0-0 2, Ashley DeHass 2-2 2-4 6, Lashauna Brothers 4-11 1-4 9. Totals: 24-51 12-21 65

BUTLER57Casey Fleeger 1-4 0-0 2, Katresa Savisky 1-3 0-0 2, Olivia Bresnahan 9-19 3-10 22, Amanda Dymun 4-5 0-0 8, Ali Sedwick 2-4 0-0 5, Casie Cygan 3-9 0-1 8, Rachel Doutt 0-1 0-0 0, Jenna Manuel 4-9 1-2 10. Totals: 24-54 4-14 57

New Castle 11 19 21 14—65Butler 11 10 20 16—573-point goals: Rodgers 3, Waters, McPhatter; Bresnahan, Sedwick, Cygan 2, Manuel

JV: Butler, 69-65 (B:Katresa Savisky 15, Ali Sedwick 14, Becky Nowacki 12, Shelby Johnson 11; NC: Kaylynn Waters 21, Jania McPhatter 13)

Next: WPIALplayoffs, TBA