Butler's Aubree Tack goes up for a layup after a steal as North Allegheny's Paige Morningstar defends. The Golden Tornado suffered a 71-45 home loss to the Tigers Tuesday night.

BUTLER TWP — Defeating North Allegheny's girls basketball team first requires an opponent to hang in against the defending WPIAL champion Tigers.

Butler's chances of doing that were dashed in the first half.

After a brief early lead on their home court, the Golden Tornado's chances melted under the heat of NA's 34-13 run in the final 12 minutes of the first half as Butler saw its four-game section win streak end with a 71-45 loss Tuesday night.

“We weren't sprinting back on defense and gave up a lot of layups in the first half,” said Butler coach Mark Maier. “NA is such a good, balanced team. It's hard to catch them on an off-night.”

Scoring came from a number of players for the Tigers in the first two quarters. Jasmine Timmerson and Cam Phillips hit back-to-back treys at the start of the second period, giving the Tigers (10-0, 8-0) a 24-13 lead. Lizzy Groetsch added a pair of baskets and Maier called a timeout with five minutes remaining in the first half with his team down 30-13.

“The girls are really good at sharing the ball. It flows until it gets to a kid with an advantage,” said NA coach Spencer Stefko.

NA's defense caused just as many problems for Butler, which turned the ball over 17 times in the first half and 31 times in the game.

“We're blessed with the kids' natural ability, but they also work very hard,” added Stefko.

Trailing 41-22 at the break, Butler played much better for the majority of the second half.

Makenna Maier sank a 3-pointer 30 seconds into the fourth that cut the deficit to 56-41, but Butler got no closer.

One bright spot for Butler was that its defense forced many of NA's 23 turnovers.

“We ran a half-court trap in the third quarter and that caused them some problems,” said Mark Maier, “but not enough.”

“There were times that it looked like 'The Benny Hill Show' out there with the turnovers going back and forth,” said Stefko. “But Butler is a good team and that's what they do to you.”

Timmerson scored 15 points to lead a quartet of Tigers in double figures.

Making her first varsity start, Butler sophomore Maisy Gibson scored 12 points to join Makenna Maier as leading scorers for the Golden Tornado.

Aubree Tack added 10 points for Butler (5-5, 5-3).

NORTH ALLEGHENY 71Jasmine Timmerson 6 0-1 15, Kellie McConnell 2 0-0 4, Cam Phillips 6 0-0 13, Emma Fischer 2 0-0 5, Paige Morningstar 6 1-2 14, Lizzy Groetsch 6 0-2 12, Mia Tuman 3 0-0 6, Caroline Henderson 0 2-2 2. Totals: 31 3-7 71.

BUTLER 45Sarah Fiorina 0 1-4 1, Sarayne Forbes 1 0-0 2, Justine Forbes 1 0-0 2, Alison Altman 2 0-0 4, Makenna Maier 5 0-0 12, Maisy Gibson 2 6-7 12, Aubree Tack 4 0-0 10, Jess Chwalik 0 2-2 2, Kate Ogin 0 0-0 0, Hannah Aldridge 0 0-0 0, Megan Penrod 0 0-0 0, Yenkeira Collazo 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 9-13 45.N. Allegheny 18 23 15 15 — 71Butler11 11 15 8 — 453-point goals: North Allegheny 6 (Timmerson 3, Phillips, Fischer, Morningstar); Butler 6 (Maier 2, Gibson 2, Tack 2).JV: Butler 52-46Thursday: Butler at Pine-Richland