MURRYSVILLE — The Butler girls basketball team was hoping to finish a disappointing season on a high note at Franklin Regional Tuesday night.

But the Golden Tornado weren’t able to overcome a lackluster first half in a 62-47 loss and ended the season at 7-15 overall.

Butler was without the services of senior forward Julia Baxter, who did not make the trip. Baxter finished the season as the team’s leading scorer with 17 points per game.

“Julia made a personal decision not to be here,” said Tornado coach Dorothea Epps, who declined to elaborate.

Senior guard Alyssa DiPippa scored a game-high 22 points and had eight steals for Butler and led a second-half surge that made things interesting. She reeled off an individual 7-0 run that cut the Panthers’ edge to 55-46 with 3:15 left in the game.

“Alyssa is a trooper,” Epps said. “She knew that without Julia here, a lot of the scoring was going to fall on her shoulders.”

But the Panthers survived 14 second-half turnovers and outscored Butler 7-1 in the closing minutes to ice the game.

“Our girls played their hearts out tonight,” said Franklin Regional coach Rich Klimchock. “Butler threw three different press defenses at us there in the second half and they made a run, but our kids kept their composure and regrouped.

“We have respect for Butler,” he added. “They always play hard.”

In the first half, Franklin Regional (7-15) did not resemble a team that failed to make the playoffs. The Panthers took command of the game with a 53 percent (15-of-28) showing from the floor in the first two quarters.

Junior guard Natalie Palmer scored 11 points in the second quarter alone with a trio of 3-pointers. Her effort helped the Panthers to a healthy 41-22 halftime lead.

“We came out flat,” Epps admitted. “We weren’t playing with any intensity.”

The Tornado rebounded with a strong third period, which began with Dani Hensel’s four points in the first 35 seconds of the quarter.

Butler will be losing seven players to graduation, but Epps has high hopes for the future.

“A lot of young girls got good experience this season,” she said. “The adjustment from junior high to high school, it’s all about getting acclimated. Hopefully, the experience will help them. We have a lot of young players who work hard in the offseason.”

Hensel and Jenna Kunst both scored 10 points for Butler.

Palmer, Kassidy Hubert and Sam Hlozek each had 13 points to pace the Panthers.

BUTLER 47

Alyssa DiPippa 6 10-14 22, Ronni Guiney 1 0-0 2, Dani Hensel 4 2-3 10, Kelsee Callihan 1 0-0 3, Jenna Kunst 3 4-9 10, Mia Rader 0 0-0 0, Melea Barlow 0 0-0 0, Nienke Dirkx 0 0-0 0, Kalynn Callihan 0 0-0 0, Christina Friel 0 0-0 0, Kailey Olenick 0 0-0 0, Nicole Pepmeyer 0 0-0 0, Morgan Gage 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 16-26 47.

FRANKLIN REGIONAL 62

Kassidy Hubert 5 3-4 13, Sam Hlozek 5 2-3 13, Natalie Palmer 5 0-0 13, Paige Verona 3 2-2 8, Nikki Wesolowski 2 0-0 4, Juliana Landis 1 0-0 2, Hannah Turacy 1 0-0 3, Sarah Stephans 1 0-0 2, Madison Pulaski 1 2-3 4. Totals: 24 9-12 62.

Butler 11 11 15 10 — 47

Franklin Regional21 20 10 11 — 62

3-point goals: Butler 1 (Kelsee Callihan); Franklin Regional 5 (Palmer 3, Hlozek, Turacy).