PITTSBURGH — At times this season, the Butler girls basketball team has struggled to score.

But on a cold and snowy Thursday night, the Golden Tornado caught fire.

Butler exploded for 21 points in the first quarter en route to a 45-35 Section 3-AAAA victory over North Hills.

The win snapped a seven-game skid for the Tornado (5-10, 2-5).

“They've had so many close games and they've played hard and we're getting better and better,” said Butler coach Dorothea Epps. “I was really happy for the girls to get that ‘W.'”

A couple of free throws from MacKenzie O'Donnell, a bucket from Julia Baxter and a Sam Marak 3-pointer gave Butler an early 7-2 lead over the Indians (3-12, 0-7).

The Tornado shot 7-for-11 from the floor on the way to a 21-15 cushion after the first quarter and never relinquished the advantage.

Butler earned the edge mostly without its leading scorer O'Donnell, who went to the bench after a pair of quick fouls.

The rest of the team picked up the slack.

Jennifer Barry scored seven of her 11 points in the first quarter, Baxter tallied six of her eight and Marak had all of her six in the opening frame.

Defense was rarely a problem during Butler's losing streak, so Epps was relieved to see her team quickly put up points.

“We were in a scoring frenzy,” said Epps with a laugh. “We know our defense is pretty good, so when we see we can score some, we're a much better team of course.”

O'Donnell made her presence felt in the final two quarters, where the junior scored 10 of her game-high 12 points. She also grabbed six rebounds and blocked two shots.

As a team, Butler slowed down offensively, but the defensive effort assured the Tornado would leave North Hills High School with a victory.

Despite nine turnovers in the third quarter alone — 29 in the game — Butler managed to outscore the Indians 6-4 in the third.

“That third quarter did get a little sloppy,” said Epps, “but I think it was just that they haven't played with the lead for a long time.”

Thanks to relentless defensive pressure, Butler never played from behind on Thursday.

North Hills coach Tom Sandherr was disappointed with the loss, but happy to see his team compete. Butler thrashed the Indians 46-19 in their first meeting Dec. 16.

“Butler always plays real hard,” said Sandherr. “I was just really happy with our effort.”

The Indians also started the contest shooting well, going 7-for-10 in the first quarter. However, North Hills finished shooting 5-of-25 for the remainder of the game. The Indians struggled with turnovers, as well, committing 26 on the night.

“Butler was changing some defenses a lot in half-court sets (in the second half) and we just didn't recognize it,” said Sandherr.

Melanie Lindsey led the Indians with 11 points off the bench. Carly Herr recorded six points, five rebounds, three steals and a block.

Barry tallied a game-high six assists and four steals for Butler.

Jasmine Bailey had three steals and four assists, while Natalie Barkus provided a spark off the bench with eight points and three boards.

Baxter led a dominant showing on the glass for Butler, which outrebounded North Hills 27-14.

“Hopefully, we'll be able to propel this into our next game,” said Epps. “I'm just so happy to get a win for these girls.”

BUTLER 45Jennifer Barry 3-11 4-8 11, MacKenzie O'Donnell 5-7 2-3 12, Sam Marak 2-3 0-0 6, Jasmine Bailey 0-3 0-0 0, Julia Baxter 4-8 0-0 8, Lauren Bresnahan 0-0 0-0 0, Makenzie Huey 0-1 0-0 0, Kalynn Callihan 0-0 0-0 0, Alyssa DiPippa 0-0 0-0 0, Natalie Barkus 3-6 2-2 8.

Totals: 17-39 8-13 45.

NORTH HILLS 35Emily Jamison 3-5 1-2 7, Carly Herr 2-9 1-7 6, Lexi Marx 1-3 0-0 2, Scout Cheeks 2-4 0-0 4, Lea Sullivan 1-3 3-3 5, Melanie Lindsey 3-11 4-4 11, Kallie Harper 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals: 12-35 9-16 35.

Butler 21 8 6 10—45North Hills 15 9 4 7—353-point goals: Butler 3-7 (Marak 2-2, Barry 1-5); North Hills 2-8 (Herr 1-3, Lindsey 1-4, Cheeks 0-1).

Monday: Shaler at Butler