NEW CASTLE — The Butler girls basketball team came to a crossroads in its season finale Monday at New Castle High School.

Golden Tornado coach Dorothea Epps was pleased with the route taken by her team.

New Castle had opened the second half with a 12-2 run that cut Butler’s edge to 39-33.

Butler responded with a 14-0 run of its own, a spurt the Red Hurricanes were never able to rebound from as the Tornado closed the campaign with a 61-44 victory.

“You always want to end things on a good note,” said Epps. “I knew (New Castle) would make a run and I told that to the team at halftime. We weathered the storm.”

The basket that began Butler’s dominance late in the third quarter was a 3-pointer from senior Jennifer Barry.

By the end of the period, Alyssa DiPippa and Mackenzie O’Donnell had both managed conventional 3-point plays, giving the Tornado a 49-33 cushion with eight minutes left to play.

“We came at Butler with a zone to start the second half and I think it hurt them,” said New Castle coach Jason Rankin. “But they adjusted to it. That’s what good coaches do.

“They got those two 3-point plays on consecutive possessions and that was big.”

Turnovers were a problem for Butler all season, but it turned the tables against the Hurricanes.

Butler forced nine miscues in the first quarter as the Tornado (7-15) scored 17 of the final 22 points in the period.

“We always felt that, if we didn’t turn the ball over this year, we’d be a decent team,” said Epps. “It was nice to force mistakes by New Castle and capitalize off of them.”

In her final high school game, Barry led Butler with 19 points. O’Donnell added 18.

The Red Hurricanes (12-9) received 12 points from Rachael Razzano, Dana Perrotta and Kelsey Scott.

New Castle was without Kaylynn Waters and Christina Talbert. The seniors combined to average 43 points per game this year, but both recently suffered knee injuries.

Injuries also hampered Butler this season, most notably a knee injury to junior guard Caitlin Baxter.

“The injuries hurt us,” said Epps. “But a lot of younger players got experience and hopefully, that will help them next season.”

BUTLER 61Jasmine Bailey 1 0-0 2, Jennifer Barry 8 2-2 19, Natalie Barkus 2 2-2 7, Mackenzie O’Donnell 7 4-7 18, Makenzie Huey 1 0-1 2, Lauren Bresnahan 3 0-0 6, Alyssa DiPippa 2 1-1 5, Katelyn Callihan 1 0-0 2, Samantha Marak 0 0-0 0, Leah Murphy 0 0-0 0, Ronni Guiney 0 0-0 0, Cierra Lawrence 0 0-0 0, Christina Friel 0 0-0 0, Morgen McLaughlin 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 25 9-13 61.

NEW CASTLE 44Rachael Razzano 2 8-8 12, Darrian Johnson 0 2-2 2, Dana Perrotta 4 1-2 12, Velvet Wade 1 1-5 3, Kelsey Scott 5 2-3 12, Brandi Stewart 1 1-2 3, Jamay Walker 0 0-0 0, Nakia Fish 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 13 15-22 44.

Butler 23 14 12 12—61New Castle 11 10 12 11—443-point goals: Butler 2 (Barry, Barkus); New Castle 3 (Perrotta 3).