PINE TWP — Trailing most of the game, Butler was poised to make a run.

Then Pine-Richland freshman guard Caitlyn Byerly stopped the Golden Tornado in their tracks.

Butler's girls trimmed a 16-point deficit to 10 when Alyssa DiPippa stuck back an offensive rebound with 7:13 to play Saturday afternoon in the Pine-Richland gym. That cut the margin to 42-32.

But Byerly canned a 3-pointer from the left baseline on the Rams' next possession, starting an 11-0 run that carried Pine-Richland to a 57-38 Section 3-AAAA basketball victory.

Fellow freshman guard Amanda Kalin paced the Rams with 16 points and eight rebounds.

“Those two girls are fun to watch,” P-R coach Cliff Foster, a Knoch graduate, said. “I'm not even sure they know what's going on out there or what the situation in a game is.

“They're just on the court playing basketball, taking shots when they're there.”

Butler (7-3, 2-2) didn't take much of a shot at winning this game and saw its four-game winning streak snapped.

The Tornado's last lead was at 8-6 midway through the first quarter. The score was tied at nine when Pine-Richland went on a 12-2 run to take control of the game. Butler never got closer than seven the rest of the way and the deficit never got into single digits in the second half.

“They definitely wanted this game more than we did,” Butler coach Dorothea Epps said. “We didn't compete at either end of the floor.

“We were outworked. They got all of the loose balls. I'm very disappointed in our effort. I expect more from my team.”

The 57 points allowed were the most by the Tornado this season. Only once all year did they score fewer than 38 points — in a 35-33 win over Grove City Dec. 16.

DiPippa had 15 points, five rebounds and three assists for Butler. Julia Baxter was limited to six points — hitting three of 12 shots — though she grabbed 11 rebounds.

No other Tornado player scored more than five points.

“Julia just got tired ... They were collapsing down on her and she got worn out,” Epps said. “We needed Pip to score more today and she did. She worked hard.

“We need more from our other three players on the floor. When teams are doubling Pip and Julia, other people have to be open. We need more contributions there because more teams are going to do this to us.”

Foster figured the aggressive defense on Baxter was a no-brainer.

“Our plan was to deny her the ball because when she gets the ball down low, bad things happen,” he said. “She's a force down there. We doubled her, tripled her, whatever it took.”

Marisa Hombosky, Pine-Richland's lone senior starter, had 13 points and three assists. Kaitlyn Jenkins added 11 points and two assists.

The Rams (8-4, 2-3) turned the ball over only eight times to Butler's 13. Pine-Richland had a 35-32 edge in rebounding.

Pine-Richland's three section losses are by a combined 15 points.

“It's playoffs or bust, that's the mode we're in right now. We need section wins,” Foster said. “Games in this section are going to be close. When we go up to Butler, it's going to be a one or two-point game in the fourth quarter.

“It won't be anything like this.”

Epps can only hope.

“Maybe our girls had to experience this,” she said. “We play in a grind-it-out, defensive section. If you don't show up ready to work, this is what happens.

“We're not a cocky team. These girls aren't a cocky group. But we were too relaxed.”

BUTLER 38

Alyssa DiPippa 6-17 3-8 15, Ronni Guiney 1-1 0-1 2, Danielle Hensel 2-3 0-0 5, Kalynn Callihan 1-5 0-0 3, Lauren Bresnahan 2-3 1-2 5, Julia Baxter 3-12 0-3 6, Tiana Schaffner 0-0 0-0 0, Paige Lambermont 0-1 2-2 2, Melea Barlow 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-42 6-16 38.

PINE-RICHLAND 57

Caitlyn Byerly 2-5 0-2 5, Marisa Hombosky 6-10 0-0 13, Chelsea Rourke 3-8 2-5 8, Kaitlyn Jenkins 5-7 1-2 11, Megan Gryzbek 1-4 0-0 2, Hannah Fasler 0-5 2-2 2, Amanda Kalin 6-14 2-02 16, Rachel Steliotes 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 23-53 7-13 57.

Butler 11 8 11 8 — 38

Pine-Richland15 18 9 15 — 57

3-point goals: Hensel, Callihan; Byerly, Hombosky, Kalin 2

JV: Pine-Richland, 21-20 (B: Ronni Guiney 7, P-R: Rachel Steliotes 6)

Tuesday: Seneca Valley at Butler