PITTSBURGH — Jenna Kunst doesn’t know who sings “Stayin’ Alive”, but she was happy to join her Butler girls basketball teammates singing the chorus of the Bee Gees’ 1977 hit in their locker room under the floor of Donahue Pavilion Wednesday night.
Even with the missteps the Golden Tornado have made, their 51-42 Section 3-AAAA road win over Oakland Catholic kept the window open for a playoff bid.
Butler, which also snapped a three-game losing streak, needs a win over Seneca Valley Friday at home to tie for the fourth and final playoff spot.
“It feels good to know we still have a good chance after losing so many times,” Kunst said. “It feels great to win again.”
Butler (7-13, 4-7) has lost three straight games against the Raiders, including a 62-45 decision earlier this season.
Golden Tornado coach Dorothea Epps was excited with the win and that her team knew the words to sing along with her.
“We have to take advantage of our opportunities. To be in the thoughts of a playoff is a miracle, really,” Epps said. “The best part is that it’s in our hands. We don’t have to worry about anyone else losing.”
Butler didn’t want to let the Eagles (2-19, 2-10) hang around. The Golden Tornado lost a third-quarter lead and the game in the teams’ first meeting.
After a 3-pointer from Oakland Catholic’s Katie Kush tied the game at 12 with four minutes left in the first quarter, Julia Baxter put Butler ahead for good.
Set up by a pass from Kunst, Baxter got a jumper to go with 1:52 left in the quarter. The Golden Tornado stretched the lead to 31-24 at halftime.
Alyssa DiPippa (18 points) and Baxter (11) finished in double figures. Kunst, who had 10 points, finished with a double-double, grabbing 16 rebounds.
“We were all excited and pumped up,” said Kunst, who is a freshman forward. “We were hoping to win.”
How the Golden Tornado played defense after halftime helped seal it. Butler held Oakland Catholic without a field goal for close to nine minutes.
“We had to speed them up, I thought our defense stepped up and got more possessions for us,” Epps said. “We had to buckle down, get stops and score on the other end.”
Lexi Lonero snapped the drought for the Eagles by making a trey with 6:52 remaining to cut the lead to 39-32.
“Scoring in the third quarter has been our Achilles’ heel all season,” Oakland Catholic coach Shannon Boyle said. “We talked about it at halftime, sometimes they go cold in the third quarter.”
Oakland Catholic found its legs late, scoring on back-to-back steals to cut the lead to 42-36 with 3:42 remaining. Dani Hensel stopped that momentum with a jumper. Butler salted the game away with long possessions and free throws.
Taylor Renk led Oakland Catholic with 17 points, while Kush finished with 10.
BUTLER 51
Alyssa DiPippa 5 8-11 18, Dani Hensel 3 2-4 9, Kalynn Callihan 1 0-0 3, Jenna Kunst 4 2-2 10, Julia Baxter 5 1-3 11, Mia Rader 0 0-0 0, Melea Barlow 0 0-0 0, Kailey Olenick 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 12-18 52.
OAKLAND CATHOLIC 42
Katie Kush 4 0-0 10, Aliyah Tullis 0 0-0 0, Lexi Lonero 2 0-0 6, Lauren Pawlik 2 0-0 5, Taylor Renk 5 7-8 17, Gabby Gevaudan 0 0-0 0, Mia Cuccaro 0 2-2 2, CC Cromer 0 2-2 2, Jayla Copetta 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 11-12 41.
Butler 16 15 6 14 — 51
Oakland Catholic14 10 3 14 — 42
3-point goals: Butler 2 (Hensel, Callihan); Oakland Catholic 4 (Kush 2, Lonero 2)
Friday: Seneca Valley at Butler
