BUTLER TWP — Amy Achesinski pauses, trying to recall a time — any time — she enjoyed a quarter of basketball like the one she had Wednesday night.

"No. Never," says the junior center for the Butler girls basketball team. "I don't think I have ever scored that much in one quarter. Ever."

Achesinski scored 17 of Butler's 18 points in the fourth quarter against Franklin Regional in the championship game of the Butler Christmas Tournament.

Her final two points were the biggest, as she took an inbound pass from Lyndsy Day, made a move to her left and softly kissed the basketball off the glass and through the hoop before the final buzzer for a 48-47 win.

"It was a perfect pass," said Butler coach Dorothea Epps. "Everything worked out the way it was drawn up, which doesn't normally happen. If that pass wasn't there, then we're not getting (a shot) up."

And it was a good thing Achesinski was there to grab it. She was virtually invisible in the Golden Tornado offense for the first three quarters, scoring just four points and taking a mere four shots from the field.

Franklin Regional (3-8) was determined to deny her the basketball in the post and that plan was working to perfection.

"I knew she wasn't getting too many shots," Epps said. "We challenge Amy. We told her that's what she is going to see. She has to get herself involved in the offense and work a little harder out there.

"We challenged her and told her, 'There's no way those girls out there are better. There's no way they should be able to stop her no matter what they are doing.'"

Achesinski finished with 21 points and the MVP honors for the tournament.

In the fourth quarter, she wasn't going to be held down any longer.

"When Amy is determined, Amy is hard to stop," Epps said. "You may be able to contain her a little bit, but you are not going to stop her."

Achesinski's slow start didn't slow Butler (8-2) early as the Tornado jumped out to a 16-10 lead. But Franklin Regional battled back, moving ahead with a 14-3 run over the final seven minutes of the first half.

"Our defense let us down," Epps said. "And turnovers. That's been our Achilles Heel. Turnovers."

Julie Ehrman also had an impact off the bench for Butler. She scored nine points on three 3-pointers, but was also solid on defense.

Epps likes Ehrman's role as the sixth man.

"She hit a lot of big shots for us tonight," Epps said. "We like her coming off the bench and giving us that spark. She's a shooter."

Ehrman won the 3-point shooting contest with 10 points and was also named to the all-tournament team.

The win was revenge of sorts for Butler, which lost to Franklin Regional by a point, 68-67, in last season's tournament final.

"I looked up at that score and went, 'Not again. This can't happen again,'" Epps said.

Thanks in large part to Achesinski, it didn't.

"We needed both these wins to get our momentum going into section," Achesinski said. "We've only played one section game, so we're ready to go."

Notes:

In addition to Achesinski and Ehrman, Nicole Doria (South Park), Chelsea Feltrop (Blackhawk), Katie McCarrison (Franklin Regional) and Lacey McAfoose (Franklin Regional) made the all-tournament team. … Achesinski scored 46 points in the two tournament games.

FRANKLIN REGIONAL 47

Lacey McAfoose 3-10 2-4 8, Ashley Jeakins 0-3 1-2 4, Katie Peticca 1-2 1-2 4, Katie McCarrison 5-10 2-2 15, Kristin Lovino 6-11 5-6 17, Erinn Cline 0-1 0-0 0, Becky Steele 0-1 2-4 2. Totals: 15-38 14-20 47

BUTLER 48

Amy Achesinski 10-14 1-1 21, Maria Baroffio 1-7 2-2 4, Julie Ehrman 3-11 0-0 9, Abby Herrit 3-5 1-2 7, Ashley Nocera 1-3 0-1 2, Michele Ritchey 0-0 0-0 0, Rachel Barry 0-1 0-0 0, Elizabeth Schultz 0-0 0-0 0, Lyndsy Day 1-4 0-0 2, Samantha Karns 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 20-46 4-6 48

3-point goals:

McCarrison 3, Baroffio, Ehrman 3

Tuesday:

Butler at Shaler