PINE TWP — Having lost consecutive section contests, the Butler girls basketball team was looking to right itself.

A young Pine-Richland team may have been what the Tornado needed.

Butler raced out to an early 9-0 lead, then used a 12-0 run early in the third quarter to pull away in a 49-36 Section 3-AAAA victory over the Rams Thursday.

Butler (13-4, 6-2) had lost to New Castle and Fox Chapel entering the game.

"This game got us back into the flow after two tough games," said Butler coach Dorothea Epps. "We just needed to get our focus and confidence back. We needed this, especially on the road."

When Pine-Richland's Sydney Wilson scored to open the third quarter, the Rams trailed 26-22 before Butler scored the next 12 points.

Abby Herrit came off the bench to score five of those points and Ashley Nocera capped the run with a 3-pointer to give the Tornado a 39-22 lead with 1:55 left in the frame.

"Abby and Ashley had great games," said Epps. "(Ashley) came out and ran the offense. We ask a lot of her, but she came out and did a real nice job. So did Abby. She had some nice scores for us."

Pine-Richland (2-14, 1-7) would get no closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

"We were inconsistent. We were up and down," said Pine-Richland coach Sherri McConnell. "We have to find our way.

"Butler was consistent. They played harder than we did," McConnell added.

Butler got off to a tremendous start when it opened the game with nine consecutive points, including the first seven by Julie Ehrman.

"What we were running, we were trying to get Julie on track early. We were able to do that," said Epps. "What goes with that is having Amy (Achesinski) open inside."

Achesinski would have 12 points in the first half and finished with a game-high 15.

Butler led 16-5 with 1:21 left in the first quarter before the Rams mounted an 8-0 spurt to pull to within three at 16-13 with 7:16 left before halftime.

But consecutive scores by Achesinski and a trey by Ehrman rebuilt the Tornado lead to 23-13. Butler would take a 27-16 lead, but the Rams closed out the half by scoring the final four points.

"They showed a lot of heart," said Epps of the Rams. "They're a young team, but getting better. They're feisty. We knew, on their floor they would play hard. They kept coming back."

Notes:

Ehrman finished the game with 11 points while Nocera would finish with nine points. Wilson led the Rams with 10 points … Butler had defeated the Rams 53-33 on Jan. 10 in a make-up game.

BUTLER 49

Ashley Nocera 4 0-0 9, Amy Achesinski 7 1-1 15, Maria Baroffio 2 1-2 5, Julie Ehrman 4 1-4 11, Samantha Karns 0 1-2 1, Abby Herrit 3 1-3 7, Rachel Barry 0 0-0 0, Karissa King 0 1-2 1, Lyndsy Day 0 0-2 0, Jen Lesniewski 0 0-0 0, Elizabeth Schultz 0 0-0 0, Kelly Crater 0 0-0 0, Michelle Ritchey 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 6-16 49.

PINE-RICHLAND 36

Chelsea Young 2 1-2 5, Sydney Wilson 4 2-4 10, Michelle Humes 0 0-0 0, Tricia Adamczyk 2 2-2 7, Amanda Reed 1 0-0 2, Katie Wise 1 1-4 3, Emma Richert 2 0-0 5, Anna Karr 2 0-1 4, Emily Karr 0 0-0 0, Christin Bridge 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14 6-13 36.

3-point goals:

Ehrman 2, Nocera; Adamczyk, Richert

Monday:

North Allegheny at Butler