BUTLER TWP — Emily Eyth was having a bad day.

The Butler freshman fumbled away a couple of passes and her first shot attempt came up short of the rim.

No matter. Needing a big shot, Eyth was there to take it.

Eyth drained a 3-pointer from the right corner with 17 seconds left to play in overtime to lead the Butler girls basketball team to a 37-36 win over Hopewell in the consolation game of the Tornado's tip-off tournament Saturday afternoon.

Eyth was supposed to be a mere decoy on a play designed to get Caitlin Baxter a good look at the hoop. But with Baxter blanketed and Butler down by two points, Eyth was left open on the perimeter.

“We know (Eyth) can shoot the ball,” said Butler coach Dorothea Epps. “I'll give her a lot of credit. She came out and was pretty nervous and struggled a little bit. All she needed to do was settle down.”

Eyth's dramatic shot and a stifling defense helped the Golden Tornado quickly erase the sting of a lopsided defeat a night earlier.

Unlike in its 19-point loss to Chartiers Valley on Friday, Butler came out with a clear plan and executed it.

The Tornado (1-1) ran a 2-3 zone and frustrated Hopewell (0-2) and its lone returning star from last year's PIAA Class AAA semifinal team, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough.

“She's going to see that for the next 20 games,” said Hopewell coach Jeff Homziak. “It's something that's not going to change. Someone else to take the pressure off her, we don't have that right now.”

Walker-Kimbrough was held to 12 points by the Butler defense, which has changed the way it plays from the teams of the past that employed a relentless full-court press.

This defense is different, but just as relentless.

“That zone — we didn't practice it a whole lot,” Epps said. “We knew we were going to have to change. We couldn't do what we have been doing.”

Neither team led by more than four points. Butler's biggest lead came early, 10-7 in the first quarter; Hopewell led by four points, 32-28, with one minute remaining in regulation.

But the Tornado managed to force overtime thanks to a layup by Baxter, who led all scorers with 18 points, and two clutch free throws by Mackenzie O'Donnell with nine seconds left.

“These young girls — they just have to believe in themselves,” Epps said. “I think we as coaches believe in them sometimes more than they do.”

Madi Rowan paced Hopewell with 13 points.

Upper St. Clair beat Chartiers Valley, 44-36, in the championship game of the tournament.

All four teams entered the weekend with huge question marks after solid campaigns last year.

In a way, this tournament could have been renamed the “Re-tooling Tournament.”

“We're still trying to find an identity,” Epps said. “We're trying to figure out what type of team we are going to be.”

HOPEWELL 36Jharrin Gill 2-5 0-1 4, Shaniya Rivers 0-1 0-0 0, Cassidy Rizzo 1-2 0-0 2, Madi Rowan 3-6 7-7 13, Raquel Farris 1-3 0-0 3, Kady Becker 0-0 0-0 0, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough 5-14 2-3 12, MacKenzie Biggs 1-1 0-0 2.

Totals: 13-32 9-11 36.

BUTLER 37Ali Houk 0-0 0-2 0, Morgan McLaughlin 0-0 0-0 0, Mackenzie O'Donnell 3-7 3-6 9, Samantha Marak 1-2 0-0 2, Jasmine Bailey 2-7 1-3 5, Shelby Johnston 0-2 0-0 0, Caitlin Baxter 7-15 4-6 18.

Totals: 14-35 8-17 37.

Hopewell 13 7 3 9 4—36Butler 11 10 2 9 5—373-point goals: Hopewell 1 (Farris); Butler 1 (Eyth).

JV Score: Hopewell 54-19 (Butler: Eyth 8)

Monday: Butler at Mt. Lebanon