HAMPTON — Hampton coach Mary Bukovac has seen her team follow the same lead this season, but at least the results have proven favorable.

After spotting Butler to an 8-0 lead, the Talbots girls basketball team would use a 14-3 run in the first half and a 14-5 spurt in the third quarter to hold off the Tornado 58-49 in a non-section game Wednesday.

"Sometimes we come out a little slow," said Bukovac, who is in her first season. "Once we usually hit that first shot, that usually gets us going.

"I'd like it if we didn't do that. In out last game (a 63-59 victory over Seneca Valley) we did that in the second quarter. We've got a lot of players without varsity experience and two guards with a lot of varsity experience," she added.

Butler (3-1) trailed 40-31 after three quarters, but baskets by Michelle Ritchey and Julie Ehrman in the first two minutes trimmed the deficit to five points.

However, a free throw by Emma Reed and a short jumper by Jodie Luther bumped the score to 43-35 with 4:57 left.

The teams exchanged scores until a 3-pointer by Ehrman, her third of the contest, pulled Butler to within five, 47-42, with 1:25 remaining.

The Talbots, though, would sink 11 of 12 free throws the rest of the way to prevent the Tornado from narrowing the gap.

"We were aggressive off the tip," said Butler coach Dorothea Epps. "We just didn't adjust to the way the game was called. After the first couple of hand checks, it got them to the line.

"Amy (Achesinski) picked up fouls. We had a lot of girls in foul trouble. Quite frankly, we have to play better and with more composure," Epps added.

Achesinski picked up her fourth foul with 6:57 left in the third quarter and Hampton (3-1) holding a 23-22 lead.

Ashley Florijan connected on both free-throw attempts to begin a 14-5 run that opened up a 37-27 Talbots' advantage with 1:56 left in the frame.

Things started off well for Butler after a Rachel Barry basket and a pair of Ehrman 3-pointers helped the Tornado race out to their early lead.

With a 12-5 lead, the Talbots scored the next seven points, beginning with a 3-pointer by Erin Szurszewski, to knot the game at 12 with 20 seconds left in the quarter.

A free throw by Achesinski and a score by Liz Schultz gave Butler a 15-12 lead with 7:36 left before halftime.

Again, the Talbots scored the next seven points, highlighted by a 3-point play by Emma Reed, to give the squad a 19-15 lead.

Achesinski scored with 4:48 left and added a three-point play with 2:32 left to give Butler its final lead of the evening at 20-19.

"You have to give them credit. They fought back and stepped up to the challenge," said Epps. "That's a nice team. I just felt as a team we did not play well.

"We have to bounce back. We'll see what character we have and we'll see how they come out at practice (Thursday)."

Notes:

Hampton received 16 points from Florijan, 14 by Luther and 12 by Reed. Butler had a game-high 17 points from Achesinski and 13 more from Ehrman … The Talbots were 1-of-5 in free-throw attempts in the first half, 18 of 22 in the second half. Butler made seven of its nine attempts.

BUTLER 49

Rachel Barry 3 0-0 6, Ashley Nocera 1 2-2 5, Amy Achesinski 6 5-7 17, Julie Ehrman 5 0-0 13, Samantha Karns 1 0-0 2, Karissa King 0 0-0 0, Lyndsay Day 1 0-0 2, Liz Schultz 1 0-0 2, Michelle Ritchey 1 0-0 2, Jen Lesniewski 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 7-9 49.

HAMPTON 58

Emma Reed 2 8-10 12, Ashley Florijan 3 10-11 16, Molly Cody 2 0-2 4, Erin Szurszewski 2 0-0 6, Jodie Luther 7 0-2 14, Alex DiBucci 1 0-0 2, C.J. Graham 1 1-2 4, Laurel Hansen 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 19-27 58.

3-point goals:

Ehrman 3, Nocera; Szurszewski 2, Graham

JV:

Butler, 32-28 (B: Katherine Sylvia)

Tuesday:

Butler at North Allegheny