BUTLER TWP — The plan for easing sophomore guard Alyssa Eyth into the Butler girls basketball team's game plan consisted of a 16-minute segment.

Fourteen of those minutes were set in stone.

The other two would be dictated by the game's flow.

Any plan for the Golden Tornado's 65-33 Section 3-AAAA home loss to Pine-Richland Wednesday at home was fine by Eyth.

A torn ACL erased her freshman year and a torn meniscus Eyth suffered last June kept her out of the first six games this season.

“It's been hard,” said Eyth, who scored eight points and grabbed two rebounds. “It's definitely difficult sitting on the bench and watching everyone else play. You want to contribute and all you can do is cheer.”

Eyth started and provided some energy in the second half.

She corralled a loose ball in traffic during the third quarter and scored on a layup to cut the Rams' lead to 44-30.

That capped a 10-0 run for the Golden Tornado with 1 minute, 24 seconds remaining in the quarter.

“If she's rolling we can keep her in there for that extended minute or pull her back out,” Butler coach Joe Lewandowski said. “I was so excited for her. She's such a tough kid and good leader. She didn't just get in there, she contributed.”

Eyth's return was a bright spot in a game where Pine-Richland controlled the contest from the opening tip.

Caitlyn Byerly — who finished with 12 points — made a 3-pointer 37 seconds in that kick-started a 12-0 run for the Rams (3-2, 1-1).

Kailey Olenick stopped the run with a free throw with 4:03 left in the first quarter for Butler (0-6, 0-3).

“That's just our game,” first-year Pine-Richland coach Tom Reighard said. “That's what we do. We shoot 3s and we live and die by them. With our size, we just run and gun.”

Pine-Richland made nine treys, including two from Amanda Kalin, who scored a game-high 22 points.

Gianna DeTemple, who finished with 15 points, also made three 3-pointers for the Rams.

“They basically put five guards on the floor,” Lewandowski said. “The game is distorted when you have a player like the Kalin girl. If you close on the shooter, she's getting to the rim. If you get in the gaps, she's finding the shooters.”

Jenna Kunst, who led the Golden Tornado with nine points and five rebounds, made the Golden Tornado's first field goal with 3:22 left in the quarter.

Pine-Richland, which shot 44 percent (15 of 34) in the first half, extended its lead to 37-16 by half.

Chelsea Rourke led the Rams with 12 rebounds.

Eyth was happy to learn on the fly.

Much like the rest of Butler's team, she's hoping to continue to grow and improve.

“I'm definitely lucky to have a good team to support me and have my back,” Eyth said. “I think it feels good. Having a limit — I have 16 minutes to play — is a little rough, but it's definitely good coming back.”

PINE-RICHLAND 65

Caitlyn Byerly 4 0-0 12, Gianna DeTemple 6 0-0 15, Ari Goetz 1 0-0 2, Chelsea Rourke 3 0-0 6, Amanda Kalin 8 4-6 22, Erica Davis 1 0-0 2, Kayla Graf 0 0-0 0, Rachel Steliotes 0 0-0 0, Makenzie Jenkins 0 0-0 0, Julia Weber 1 0-0 2, Savannah Renner 0 0-0 0, Grace Roller 0 0-0 0, Ali Battaglia 0 0-0 0, Taylor Brenner 2 0-0 4. Totals: 26 4-6 65.

BUTLER 33

Alyssa Eyth 3 2-2 8, Jenna Kunst 2 5-7 9, Noel Pfabe 1 1-1 3, Julia Gibson 0 1-2 1, Tiana Schaffner 1 0-0 2, Kailey Olenick 1 4-5 6, Melea Barlow 0 0-0 0, Sydney Hanratty 0 0-0 0, Heidi Gross 1 0-0 2, Morgan Gage 0 0-0 0, Autumn Rodgers 0 0-0 0, Allison Schubert 0 0-0 0, Kelsee Callihan 0 0-0 0. Totals: 10 9-13 33.

Pine-Richland 23 14 15 13 — 65

Butler 6 10 14 3 — 33

3-point goals: Pine-Richland 9 (Byerly 4, DeTemple 3, Kalin 2)

Monday: Butler at North Allegheny