BUTLER TWP — The game started out tight.

It didn't end that way.

Baldwin trailed Butler 18-16 midway through the second quarter before taking off on a 25-3 run. That spurt led the Highlanders (5-2) to a 55-35 girls basketball win over the Golden Tornado Thursday night in the Butler Christmas Tournament.

By the time the run ended, Baldwin had a 43-21 lead on the shell-shocked Tornado with 3:25 left in the third quarter.

“We got rattled, no doubt about it,” Butler coach Mark Maier said. “I probably should have called a timeout in the second quarter when they opened up the lead.

“That's a good team and they play hard. They disguise their traps well and they're effective with it. Sometimes they trap the point guard, sometimes the first pass.

“They applied full-court pressure, backed it up to half-court ... It gave us problems,” Maier added.

Baldwin started five sophomores. The Highlanders do not have a senior on their roster.

Kyle DeGregorio is in his first year coaching girls basketball after coaching boys for 34 years.

“They say you can't coach girls the same way you coach boys. I disagree with that,” DeGregorio said. “Girls want to win just as badly. They practice just as hard.

“These girls allow me to coach them hard. What we do defensively is complex. We apply pressure all the time and these girls don't mind the work and effort that goes into that.”

No player scored in double figures for Butler (4-3). Alison Altman scored eight points to lead the Tornado. Julia Gibson had seven points and four rebounds.

Jordan Kauffman led Butler with five rebounds. But Baldwin had 38 boards as a team to Butler's 19. The Tornado also had 20 turnovers.

“Their rebounding killed us,” Maier said. “We were trying to get the ball and they'd get one offensive board, then another.

“You give a team three shots in a possession, they're gonna score.”

Anna Lucarelli led Baldwin with 15 points, three steals and six rebounds. Kayla Radomsky came off the bench to score 11 points and grab four boards. Morgan Altavilla came off the bench to get three steals.

“Once we backed up into a half-court press, we started getting turnovers and things started going our way,” DeGregorio said of what triggered his team's 25-3 run.

“Butler has good shooters, so we wanted to take that away. We made them put the ball on the floor and drove to the rim. That worked in our favor.”

Baldwin won its third game in a row. Butler's modest two-game winning streak was snapped.

“We didn't play a good game. All of us, we have to own that,” Maier said. “The sooner we own it, the sooner we can bury it and move on.

“When you face pressure like they brought, you have to be strong with the ball. Do that and they'll foul you. But they kept taking it away.”

Baldwin plays Mohawk Friday night in the Butler gym as part of the tournament's round-robin format. The Tornado take on Mohawk at 6:30 p.m. Saturday to conclude the tourney.

“That's what nice about basketball,” Maier said. “In football, you have to wait seven days to get this taste out of your mouth. We have a chance to get rid of it Saturday.”

BALDWN 55

Abby Marzina 3-9 1-3 9, Nina Dongilli 0-3 0-0 0, Lexi Bernotas 1-2 5-5 7, Anna Lucarelli 3-5 8-8 15, Meghan Dryburgh 3-8 2-2 8, Kayla Radomsky 4-7 3-5 11, Emily Hillgartner 1-2 -0-0 2, Morgan Altavilla 1-4 0-0 2, Sydney Carr 0-0 0-0 0, Cassie Pantelis 0-0 0-2 0, Lexi Kennard 0-0 0-0 0, Emily Meador 0-0 1-2 1, Abby Joyce 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 16-41 20-27 55.

BUTLER 35

Sarayne Forbes 1-3 1-1 3, Julia Gibson 2-4 3-4 7, Jordan Kauffman 1-3 0-2 2, Emma Monteleone 0-6 0-2 0, Alison Altman 3-4 2-2 8, Sydney Hanratty 1-4 2-2 5, Hailey Metzger 1-1 1-2 3, Makenna Maier 1-3 0-0 2, Emilee Altman 1-4 2-2 4, Anna Michalek 0-1 1-2 1, Aubree Tack 0-1 0-2 0. Totals: 11-34 12-21 35.

Baldwin 12 22 11 10 — 55

Butler12 9 4 10 — 35

3-point goals: Marzina 2, Lucarelli; Hanratty

JV: Butler, 51-31 (BA: Cassie Pantelis 9, B: Sarayne Forbes 13, Makenna Maier 11)

Friday: Baldwin vs. Mohawk, 6:30 p.m., at Butler

Saturday: Mohawk at Butler, 6:30 p.m.