ROSS TWP — All Butler's girls could do was watch as Bethel Park repeatedly cashed in at the foul line.

The Black Hawks sank 15 of 19 free throws in the fourth quarter, including seven in a row during the final 1:23, to outlast the Golden Tornado, 50-43, in a WPIAL Class AAAA quarterfinal Friday night at North Hills High.

While Butler (17-6) saw its 15-game win streak come to an end, Bethel Park (18-5) advanced to the semifinals to meet Baldwin.

All four Section 4-AAAA teams — Bethel Park, Mount Lebanon, Baldwin and Peters Township — reached the WPIAL semifinal round.

Unless the Black Hawks win the WPIAL championship, Butler's season is over.

"Believe me, we're going to do everything in our power to bring them back in," Bethel Park coach Jonna Burke said. "They have a great team,

"This was a battle of defensive wills. The game looked sloppy at times because the defenses were so good."

Butler coach Dorothea Epps agreed.

"A couple of possessions were the difference tonight," Epps said. "We turned it over a couple of times late. ... Those hurt in a game as tight as this."

After taking a 2-0 lead, Butler didn't regain the advantage until Amanda Dymun stuck back an offensive rebound for a 31-30 edge with 7:35 left in the game.

With 4:40 remaining, the score was deadlocked at 38.

Bethel Park's Kara Rayburn sank two free throws to snap the tie and Candace Martino stole a pass and drove the floor for a layup, giving the Black Hawks a four-point edge.

Butler's Emily Wise accepted a no-look pass from Olivia Bresnahan and turned it into a three-point play, cutting the gap to 42-41 with 3:10 to play.

Shortly thereafter, Bethel Park went on its foul-shooting binge to put the game away as the Tornado couldn't hit any outside shots in the final moments.

"Thank goodness for those free throws," Burke said. "We had been horrific at the line in recent games. Against McKeesport in our first playoff game, we were 15-of-29."

Butler had 21 turnovers to Bethel Park's 20. The Tornado had a 27-26 rebounding edge as the statistics were as close as the game.

Neither team ever had a double-digit lead. Bethel used a 2-3 zone to prevent Bresnahan's penetration.

"They play excellent defense,"said Martino, a junior guard, about Butler. "The intensity was crazy."

Martino and Danielle McNabb had 15 points each for the Black Hawks. Laurel Miller tallied nine points and six rebounds.

Casie Cygan paced the Tornado with 13 points, including three 3-pointers in the third quarter. Bresnahan had 10 points, 10 rebounds and six steals. If Friday was her final game, she ended her Butler career with 1,395 points.

Burke, who coached Butler for eight seasons before taking over at her alma mater, hopes her team didn't end the Tornado's season.

"This was harder for me than I thought," Burke admitted. "I hate coaching against a friend. I didn't enjoy this at all. I didn't have fun. Neither one of us (Burke or Epps) wanted this. We would rather meet in the semifinals.

"I'm thrilled for my girls. For that, I'm excited. But I have nothing but fond memories of Butler. I recognized a lot of faces in their crowd tonight. ... This was very personal for me."

Epps' tears matched those of her players as they quietly exited their locker room.

"This stings bad. It hurts really hard," Epps said. "These girls wanted to move on so badly and I wanted it for them, not for myself, because they're the closest group of players I've ever coached."

Epps said it will take a committee of players to replace Bresnahan's production next year.

"It will be harder to replace the kid than the player," the coach said. "Olivia is such a special kid. She could have scored 30 points a night if she wanted the individual stuff.

"But she wanted a championship for her team. I can't describe how badly she wanted that. It's sad that senior group didn't get to experience a deep playoff run because they deserved it."

The game was played despite adverse weather conditions.

"A lot of Butler fans came, despite the weather," Epps said. "We appreciated the community support very much."

BETHEL PARK 50Laurel Miller 3-7 3-4 9, Candace Martino 6-10 2-3 15, Kara Rayburn 1-5 6-8 8, Danielle McNabb 4-8 6-6 15, Alexandra Hay 0-2 3-4 3, Claire LoPresti 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals: 14-32 20-25 50.

BUTLER 43Casey Fleeger 0-1 0-0 0, Katresa Savisky 2-3 2-2 6, Becky Nowacki 1-2 0-0 2, Olivia Bresnahan 3-16 4-7 10, Amanda Dymun 1-2 0-0 2, Jasmine Bailey 0-0 0-0 0, Emily Wise 1-3 3-3 5, Casie Cygan 5-15 0-0 13, Ali Sedwick 1-2 0-0 3, Cait Baxter 1-3 0-0 2.

Totals: 15-47 9-12 43.

Bethel Park 6 11 13 20—50Butler 5 10 14 14—433-point goals: Bethel Park 2 (Martino, McNabb); Butler 4 (Cygan 3, Sedwick).