BUTLER TWP — The lead changed hands 11 times.

It took freshman guard Christina Yarbrough to turn it Pine-Richland's way for good as the Rams upended Butler, 54-49, in double-overtime Friday night in a Class 1-6A girls basketball game in the Golden Tornado gym.

Butler (6-10, 2-8) took a 48-47 lead on a three-point play by Julia Gibson with 1:15 left in the second OT. Yarbrough drove the floor for a go-ahead layup for P-R, then stole the ball near mid-court and drove in for a second layup.

That gave the Rams (4-13, 2-8) a 51-48 lead with 33 seconds left and Butler had no answer.

“We had trouble keeping them from driving to the hoop all night,” Golden Tornado coach Mark Maier lamented.

It was a Butler drive to the hoop that nearly ended the game in regulation.

The Tornado trailed 40-37 in the final minute when Sydney Hanratty sank a free throw with 41 seconds left and Emma Monteleone canned a pair to tie the game at 40 with 23 seconds on the clock.

Pine-Richland was playing for the last shot when Monteleone stole the ball behind the 3-point line and drove the other way on a 2-on-1 break.

Instead of going to the basket, Monteleone attempted a pass to her teammate that was intercepted as time expired.

“She was trying to make a play and had no time to think about it,” Maier said. “Nobody can fault her, but their defense was backing up because they didn't want to foul there.

“If Emma goes right at them ... well, we don't know what might have happened. But she made a great play to take the ball away.”

The Rams entered the game having lost 10 of their last 11. The Tornado dropped their fifth in a row and seventh in their last eight.

Butler's last two losses have come in overtime.

“The girls are fighting hard,” Maier said. “We fought tonight. We came back from seven down at the end of the third (34-27) to force the overtime.”

Monteleone had 13 points and three assists for Butler. Gibson, seeing her first action since suffering an injury a few games ago, came off the bench to score 11 points and grab six rebounds.

Jordan Kauffman had eight points and 10 rebounds for the Tornado.

“Julia gave us a great effort. She rebounded well and her three-point play in overtime was big,” Maier said.

Kendall Gessner, a senior forward, led the Rams with 26 points. She averages nine per game and did not play against Butler in the teams' first meeting, a 38-33 Tornado win.

“Kendall has been hampered by injuries and she was up for this game, since she missed our first game against them,” Rams coach Tom Reighard said. “She was outstanding tonight.”

Meghan Luellen added nine points and three assists for the Rams.

“This is a big win for us,” Reighard said. “These girls have never quit working. When you get your first win in a while, it gets everybody up a little bit more when you go back to practice.”

Butler had a rough night shooting, sinking 33 percent of its shots from the field and making 18 of 33 free throws.

“It's the foul shooting that bothers me,” Maier said. “That's the one part of the game that never changes. The hoop is 10 feet high and the foul line is 15 feet away. It's a constant.

“Shoot 55 percent from the foul line and you're not going to win double-overtime games. It's just not going to happen.”

PINE-RICHLAND 54

Meghan Luellen 4-10 0-1 9, Megan O'Connor 0-1 0-0 0, Kendall Gessner 8-15 9-12 26, Christina Yarbrough 3-6 0-2 6, Alaina Kalin 2-9 1-2 6, Maddie Patton 3-6 0-0 6, Gianna Reighard 0-0 1-2 1, Kaitlyn Kerns 0-2 0-0 0, Ekaterini Balouris 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 20-50 11-18 54.

BUTLER 49

Julia Gibson 3-4 5-6 11, Jordan Kauffman 3-9 1-4 8, Emma Monteleone 2-7 9-16 13, Alison Altman 2-3 1-2 5, Sydney Hanratty 2-7 1-2 6, Makenna Maier 0-1 0-0 0, Emilee Altman 2-9 1-2 6. Totals: 14-41 18-33 49.

Pine-Richland 12 3 19 6 3 11 — 54

Butler9 12 6 13 3 6 — 49

3-point goals: Luellen, Gessner, Kalin; Kauffman, Hanratty, E.Altman

JV: Butler, 37-30 (P-R: Kaitlyn Kerns 8; B: Sarayne Forbes 13)

Monday: Butler at North Hills