BUTLER TWP — Butler's girls basketball team has been writing the same script of late.

Face a top-flight opponent, play it tough — and lose for the same reason each time.

Turnovers.

That script played out again Friday night as the Golden Tornado suffered a gritty 48-35 loss to undefeated Oakland Catholic in the Butler gym. The Tornado had 25 turnovers in the defeat.

“Way too many again,” Butler coach Dorothea Epps said. “We keep working on it, but it keeps happening. We're not making good decisions with the ball. We're rushing things.

“We can beat some of these teams if we learn to clean up our own mess.”

Butler will take a six-game losing streak into Seneca Valley Tuesday night.

“That's a game we have to have,” Epps admitted.

Oakland Catholic (13-0, 6-0) allows the fewest points among WPIAL Class AAAA teams at 35 per game. Yet Butler (4-9, 1-4) trailed only 26-22 at halftime.

“The O'Donnell girl was hurting us inside and we had to take that away,” Eagles coach Shannon Boyle said. “We switched to a zone defense so we could front her and try to deny the ball.”

MacKenzie O'Donnell paced Butler with 15 points and 12 rebounds. She scored 11 of those points in the first half.

O'Donnell managed only three field goal attempts in the second half as Oakland Catholic pulled away. The Eagles went on a 12-2 run during the first seven minutes of the second half.

“Once a team takes Mac away like that, our guards need to find their shots and take them,” Epps said. “We can't be afraid to shoot the ball.”

No other Butler player scored more than six points. Jennifer Barry grabbed eight rebounds and the Tornado enjoyed a 36-29 advantage on the boards.

“We rebounded well. We played defense well,” Epps said. “We held their offense down and Oakland's not used to that. We're talking about one of the best teams in the state here.”

Oakland Catholic has four starters back from last season. Bobbi Baker was the Eagles' lone player in double digits with 21 points.

Cranberry Township resident Audra Phibbs had seven rebounds off the bench for the Eagles and starting point guard Jess Mrdjenovich, also from Cranberry, had four rebounds.

“We worked hard this offseason improving our speed and quickness,” Boyle said. “We want to take the ball away.

“My ideal offense is not running a set play. Steal the ball, go the other way and have your defense produce offense in transition.”

Oakland Catholic did that repeatedly Friday, scoring seven of its 17 field goals on fast-break layups following turnovers.

“We played into their hands that way,” Epps said.

OAKLAND CATHOLIC 48Mara Fitzgerald 2-9 0-0 6, Jess Mrdjenovich 1-3 0-0 2, Corey Taglianetti 1-8 0-0 3, Audra Phibbs 2-7 1-2 5, Bobbi Baker 7-10 7-10 21, Chrissy Berenato 2-3 1-2 5, Rachel Vigliotti 2-5 2-2 6, Iffie Uwazie 0-2 0-0, Madi Caufield 0-1 0-0 0, Nicole Johnson 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals: 17-48 11-16 48.

BUTLER 35Makenzie Huey 1-3 0-0 3, Jennifer Barry 1-14 1-2 4, Alyssa DiPippa 0-3 0-0 0, Natalie Barkus 1-2 0-0 2, MacKenzie O'Donnell 7-9 1-2 15, Sam Marak 0-3 0-0 0, Jasmine Bailey 0-3 0-0 0, Julia Baxter 2-3 1-1 5, Kalynn Callihan 2-4 0-0 6.

Totals: 14-44 3-5 35.

Oakland Catholic 16 10 12 10—48Butler 8 14 5 8—353-point goals: Oakland Catholic 3 (Fitzgerald 2, Taglianetti); Butler 4 (Huey, Barry, Callihan 2).

Junior varsity: Oakland Catholic, 45-31 (B: Alyssa DiPippa 11, Kalynn Callihan 8)

Tuesday: Butler at Seneca Valley