BUTLER TWP — Tiana Schaffner tried not to look at the scoreboard.

But old habits die hard for the senior guard on the Butler girls basketball team.

Schaffner said she knows the scoreboard won’t tell the complete tale of her season with the Golden Tornado.

She tries to peer at those numbers as little as possible.

“It’s hard, but I know we have to do it,” Schaffner said. “Even though the scoreboard says we’re losing if we look at it, if we just play our hearts out, I think we have a chance to be successful.”

In the second quarter against Shaler Monday night, Schaffner did look at the scoreboard and saw her team was winning 19-13.

It was progress for a team that is, in the words of their coach Joe Lewandowski, just trying to get better every day.

That strategy is working, even though Butler fell at home to Shaler, 52-34.

The Titans’ press bothered the Golden Tornado in the first half, but Butler handled it much better in the second half and even forced Shaler coach Cornelious Nesbit to abandon it.

To Butler (0-5, 0-2) and Schaffner, that was their victory Monday.

“They adjusted to the pressure,” Lewandowski said. “We had been struggling with pressure and we worked on it for the last three days. We fell back a little bit, but we adjusted to it and even pulled them out of it. That was a win for us.”

The Tornado defense also frustrated Shaler. The Titans turned the ball over 30 times and shot just 31 percent from the floor.

Shaler (2-2, 1-1), though, dominated on the boards and used second-chance opportunities to take a 28-23 lead at the half and extend that advantage to as many as 19 points in the fourth quarter.

Jenna Kunst led Butler with 11 points.

Shaler was paced by Gia Thorpe with 17 points and Alliya Duritza with 16.

“The key here is this: keep competing,” Lewandowski said. “There are two ways you can handle adversity: you can shrink or you can attack. We have fighters in that locker room and they want to get better.”

Schaffner said she can see the improvement on a daily basis.

She also said she can’t wait for the day this season when she can look up at the scoreboard and see a victory there, too.

“It’s going to happen,” Schaffner said. “People keep doubting us, but we can do it. I know it.”

SHALER 52

Rylee Donovan 0-6 2-2 2, Kayla Seidl 0-2 0-0 0, Allie Graf 0-0 0-0 0, Gia Thorpe 511 7-7 17, Olivia Long 3-9 0-2 6, Alliya Duritza 5-9 6-7 16, Jacey Schott 1-5 0-0 3, Megan Lydon 2-9 4-6 8. Totals: 16-51 19-24 52.

BUTLER 34

Liz Kuhn 0 0-0 0, Melea Barlow 1-4 0-0 2, Jenna Kunst 4-8 2-3 11, Noel Pfabe 2-3 2-2 6, Tiana Schaffner 1-3 2-2 5, Kailey Olenick 0-9 4-4 4, Julia Gibson 2-3 0-1 4, Allison Schubert 0-0 0-0 0, Sydney Hanratty 1-2 0-2 2, Kelsee Callihan 0-1 0-0 0, Autumn Rodgers 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 11-33 10-14 34.

Shaler 11 17 8 16 — 52

Butler10 13 2 9 — 34

3-point goals: Shaler 1 (Schott); Butler 2 (Schaffner, Kunst)

JV: Shaler 31-30

Thursday: Pine-Richland at Butler