WEXFORD — There were smiles and hugs and a few joyful yells, but the celebration by the Butler girls basketball team was subdued.

That's because a section championship, which the Golden Tornado clinched outright Monday with a 68-55 win over the Tigers, is just the beginning in the eyes of coach Dorothea Epps.

"What I love about this team the most is that they love this section title," said Butler coach Dorothea Epps, "but they want more."

Butler used a 19-2 run in the second half to turn a two-point deficit into a double-digit lead.

North Allegheny got as close as seven points with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but Butler surged again.

"That's why they are section champs," said North Allegheny coach Sherri McConnell. "They are a complete team."

With seven seconds remaining, the Butler fans in attendance rose from their seats and started chanting, "Who are we? Section champs!"

That cheer pleased the Butler players. And it allowed what the GoldenTornado had accomplished during a grueling season that has produced 22 wins and only one loss, to sink in.

"We haven't been able to exhale too many times this year," Epps said.

Sewing up the section title outright Monday was paramount because the Golden Tornado didn't want to go into Friday's game against rival New Castle needing a win to keep from sharing the championship with the Red Hurricanes.

"It was real important to these girls," Epps said. "They were happy knowing they shared the title, but they wanted the title all to themselves."

They got it by overcoming a couple of NorthAllegheny runs.

After taking an 8-2 lead, Butler watched the Tigers outscore it 16-2 before recovering.

Butler (22-1, 12-0) reclaimed the lead at 22-21 on a 3-pointer by Karissa King and led by four points at the break.

North Allegheny (11-9, 5-6) regained the lead with a quick spurt to start the second half, but then the Golden Tornado went on their prodigious run to put the game out of reach.

The defense keyed the run and keyed the win for Butler.

"We talked about tightening up our defense and switching defenses on them," Epps said. "We went to our special defense and the girls executed it to the T."

The special defense was designed to take freshman Kelly Brennen out of the game, and it worked. Brennen had 15 points through the first three quarters and none in the fourth.

"They play hard defense all the time, soI don't think it matters what defense they are in," McConnell said.

Olivia Bresnahan scored 20 points to lead Butler and Casie Cygan came off the bench to add 13 points.

Will clinching the section title outright change Epps' approach to Friday's game against New Castle?

"Absolutely not," Epps said. "New Castle is going to try to ruin it — we're still undefeated in the section. We're not resting anybody. We're playing. We're going for it."

BUTLER 68Lyndsy Day 1-5 7-8 9, Olivia Bresnahan 9-13 2-9 20, Erica Miller 4-9 1-1 9, Casie Cygan 6-11 1-1 13, Karissa King 2-5 0-0 6, Kayla Gilliland 3-5 3-4 9, Katherine Sylvia 0-1 0-0 0, Jenna Manuel 1-4 0-0 2, Rachel Doutt 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals: 26-43 14-23 68

NORTH ALLEGHENY 55DawnMurphy 1-8 0-0 3, Julie Figan 5-10 2-2 13, Katie Polley 0-4 0-0 0, Maria Nolan 2-6 0-0 4, Andrea Elmore 2-5 1-4 5, Kelly Brennan 6-11 1-3 15, Laura Sudo 3-5 1-1 7, Jackie Lang 4-7 2-4 10.

Totals: 23-56 7-14 55

Butler 10 20 13 25—68North Allegheny 12 14 13 18—553-point goals: King 2; Murphy, Brennan 2

JV: Butler 36-29

Friday: New Castle at Butler