Girls use big 2nd half to eclipse Moon
BUTLER TWP — For two quarters, Butler forgot to flick the "on" switch.
The Golden Tornado more than made up for it in the second half of their 66-40 girls basketball victory over Moon Friday night.
The Tigers (2-9, 1-5) began the night with a seven-game losing streak, but they outscored Butler 18-11 in the second quarter to pull within 29-25 at halftime.
"I was upset with the whole first half," Butler coach Dorothea Epps said. "No intensity. No desire. We weren't picking up on anything out there."
Even an 18-4 start in the first six minutes — during which Moon had nine turnovers — didn't sell Epps on her team's effort.
"We weren't capitalizing off those turnovers. If we were into this game, we would have gone up by 30 just like that," she said. "We had the lead because we had the better team. That's the only reason."
Moon had 25 turnovers to Butler's 11.
Epps gave her team a stern lecture in the locker room at intermission — and the girls responded.
A 10-0 run early in the third quarter gave the Tornado (7-5, 5-0) a 14-point lead. Butler led by 20 through three quarters and its lead peaked at 64-33 with 3:24 remaining.
"We played the second half like we're supposed to play basketball," Epps said. "You just can't approach any game lightly. I know (Moon coach Kelly Skwortz) well and she was going to have her team come in here playing hard.
"That team can shoot the ball. That's what got them back in it in the second quarter. We play a half like that again and it could cost us a game," Epps added.
Olivia Bresnahan paced Butler with 22 points, six assists and five steals. Casie Cygan added 20 points, three assists and three steals.
Katresa Savisky contributed nine points, four assists and four steals for the Tornado, who won their fifth in a row. Emily Wise had six of 34 Butler rebounds.
Ali Sedwick played sparingly Friday after missing Butler's first 11 games while recovering from knee surgery.
Natalie Corso paced Moon with 21 points, including five 3-pointers. Dana Magnelli had seven of 26 Tiger rebounds.
Skwortz was unavailable for comment.
MOON 40Dani Lewis 2-7 0-0 4, Marquesha Mackey 3-7 1-2 7, Dana Magnelli 1-5 1-2 3, Zoey Cook 0-1 1-2 1, Natalie Corso 8-13 0-0 21, Jharrin Gill 0-4 4-4 4.
Totals: 14-37 7-10 40.
BUTLER 66Casey Fleeger 1-5 0-0 3, Katresa Savisky 4-6 1-2 9, Becky Nowacki 1-4 0-0 2, Olivia Bresnahan 8-15 6-7 22, Amanda Dymun 2-3 0-2 4, Ali Sedwick 0-2 0-0 0, Amber Steinheiser 0-0 0-0 0, Jasmine Bailey 0-0 2-2 2, Emily Wise 0-3 0-0 0, Casie Cygan 8-15 2-3 20, Mackenzie O'Donnell 1-3 0-0 2, Allie Houk 0-1 0-0 0, Caitlin Baxter 0-2 2-2 2, Sam Marak 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals: 25-59 13-16 66.
Moon 7 18 7 8—40Butler 18 11 23 14—663-point goals: Moon 5 (Corso 5); Butler 3 (Cygan 2, Fleeger).
Monday: Butler at Seneca Valley
