BUTLER TWP — Caitlin Baxter takes a jab step to her left, then darts to her right, slithering between two defenders.

As she reaches the paint, she leaps off her left foot and puts up a running one-handed shot that hits nothing but net.

On that one play, the Butler sophomore point guard shows why she quickly is becoming one of the most feared girls basketball players in the WPIAL.

“I knew we were going to be young, and I knew Cait was going to be our best player,” said Butler assistant coach Aaron Epps, who worked extensively with Baxter this summer. “Cait is getting better and better and better.”

She has to be at her best. On a typical night, Butler starts three sophomores — including Baxter — a junior and a senior.

Still, Baxter is leading Butler County in scoring at nearly 15 points per game and has tallied 20 or more points in three games.

Just about all of her points have been hard earned, though, as the Tornado (3-10) are averaging 41 points per game.

Butler lost seven seniors to graduation, including leading scorers Olivia Bresnahan, Casie Cygan and Casey Fleeger. That left a large void that Baxter has filled, at least in part.

But even Baxter has been surprised by her scoring punch.

“I felt this year I had to be the leader,” Baxter said. “Last year was all about (Bresnahan). This year, I knew it had to be me, and I had to step up and do my part.”

That started with summer workouts with Epps.

Like Baxter, Epps was a point guard when he starred for the Butler boys basketball team and then at Clarion University and Slippery Rock University.

The main focus of the workouts was dribbling.

“The one thing we work on all summer long is ball handling,” Epps said. “If you can handle the ball, there's always a place for you to play. The one thing I knew about Cait was she had to be ready when teams went after her.”

Teams already are making life difficult for Baxter.

Last week at Oakland Catholic, the Eagles made it their sole defensive objective to deny Baxter the basketball, turning her into a passer rather than a shooter and slasher.

It worked for the most part as Baxter scored just 10 points. Seneca Valley did something similar Monday, holding the explosive Baxter to nine points.

“I think coaches are starting to notice that I like to drive to the hoop and score,” Baxter said. “They are putting more pressure on me to try to stop me. It's something I'm going to have to deal with.”

But Epps said Baxter is one of those players who can score no matter what defenses throw at her.

And she will only get better.

That's a scary thought for the rest of the WPIAL.

“The sky's the limit for Cait,” Epps said. If Cait stays on track and keeps working, she could be one of the best, if not the best, player in the section next season.”

For now, Baxter would rather get some wins for her team than accolades for herself.

“I didn't really expect to be scoring as much as I have this season,” Baxter said. “I give that all to me team, pushing me in practice and setting me up for good shots in the game.”