GROVE CITY — Alyssa DiPippa didn't act like it was one of the biggest shots of her young career.

She needed a cue from her teammates.

DiPippa hit a bank-shot jumper with two seconds remaining in the game to give the Butler girls basketball team a 35-33 road win over Grove City High Monday night.

“When I saw my whole team cheering, I was like 'I guess I did it,'” DiPippa said, laughing. “It was a good feeling.”

The shot capped off a stellar game and a clutch fourth quarter for the junior point guard in a game dominated by physical play and defense.

DiPippa hit a clutch 3-pointer with 1:10 remaining that tied the game at 33-33.

“She's a fighter and she's a trooper,” said Butler coach Dorothea Epps. “When she has the ball in her hands, that's where we want it. We knew she would make something happen out there.”

DiPippa was aggressive to the hoop, slicing through the lane on her way to eight first-half points and the Golden Tornado led 17-14.

DiPippa had some room because the Grove City defense was preoccupied with stopping Butler's 6-foot junior forward Julia Baxter.

The Eagles (4-1) did for the most part, holding Baxter to just eight points.

“I thought we battled really hard. I thought we played great defensively and did a good job on Baxter,” said Grove City coach T.L. Eller. “We've really been focusing on our post defense. We know that in order to be competitive in the region, that's an area we need to be better at.”

But Grove City didn't plan on DiPippa.

“They had to make big plays at the end of the game. We didn't just give it to them,” Eller said. “(DiPippa) stepped up and hit two really big shots. They were big plays.”

DiPippa earned every point and had the battle scars to prove it.

She caught an elbow in the eye toward the end of the first half and was also smacked in the nose in the second half in a game that had playoff-like physicality and intensity.

“That's a tough little cookie there,” Epps said of DiPippa. “That's a farm girl. She's tough. She's mentally tough, too. When she makes mistakes, she doesn't sulk. She bounced right back and tries to go out and make a difference.”

The game was also dominated by runs.

Butler (3-1) led 4-0 before Grove City scored the next eight points. The Tornado then scored the next 13 for the biggest lead of the game at 17-8.

The teams didn't trade baskets until midway through the third quarter.

It looked like a final 10-0 run by Grove City to start the fourth quarter would be enough to keep the Eagles unbeaten, but Butler closed the game out with seven consecutive points, including the clutch five from DiPippa, who led all scorers with 16.

“I told the girls, 'gather your stuff up and let's get out of here.' We were lucky to escape tonight,” Epps said. “They got back up off the canvas and did a nice job. I warned them about this. This is a good team we're playing and they have nothing to lose. I give all the credit to Grove City, too. They are gritty, hard-nosed girls.”

Corianne Hyduchak led Grove City with 14 points. Hyduchak is playing with a sore shoulder after dislocating it this summer.

The senior guard scored 10 points in the second half.

“She's playing not at 100 percent,” Eller said. “We have a very balanced offense this year, and that's a great thing. But we still need one or two girls to step up when we need them and she's done it twice for us now.

“We did what we needed to do to win the game,” Eller added. “But someone has to win and someone has to lose.”

BUTLER 35

Alyssa DiPippa 6-9 3-8 16, Danielle Hensel 0-0 0-0 0, Kalynn Callihan 1-5 2-2 5, Lauren Bresnahan 0-1 2-2 2, Julia Baxter 3-7 2-3 8, Paige Lambermont 0-1 0-0 0, Ronni Guinney 2-3 0-0 4, Tiana Schaffner 0-1 0-0 0, Melea Barlow 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 12-27 9-15 35.

GROVE CITY 33

Hailey Hall 0-4 1-2 1, Corianne Hyduchak 6-15 2-6 14, Jenn Ferguson 1-3 0-0 2, Jordyn Wyllie 3-7 4-4 10, Danyelle Lucido 0-1 0-0 0, Alexis Deyarmin 0-1 0-0 0, Brenna Deyarmin 3-6 0-0 6, Arianna Sprando 0-2 0-0 0, Catie Jaskowak 0-1 0-0 0, Rachel Hughes 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 13-40 7-12 33.

Butler 9 8 11 7—35

Grove City8 6 9 10—33

3-point goals: Butler 2 (DiPippa, Callihan)

JV: Butler 46-26 (B: Kelsie Callihan 8; GC: Mekenzie Wolfe 8, Anna Burtch 7 (8 assists)

Thursday: North Allegheny at Butler

Friday: Meadville at Grove City