SHALER TWP — With its first road section game of the season Thursday, Butler girls basketball coach Dorothea Epps knew the importance of strong defense.

Holding a nine-point lead with 3:44 left before halftime, the Golden Tornado used a 15-3 run to take a 41-20 lead into the locker room en route to a 61-36 section victory over the Titans.

Butler held Shaler to 19 points over the final 19:43.

"We knew if we kept the pressure on, we'd get them to turn the ball over," said Epps. "We switched over our defense a couple of times and that was the difference."

Shaler scored the first six points of the second half and outscored Butler 8-2 over the first 4:27, but Butler had a pair of baskets from Olivia Bresnahan and one from Lyndsy Day to take back the momentum and cruise to the win.

"We're a young team and what you saw was pretty much normal, a little inconsistent," said Titans coach Eric Mozzetti.

"(Butler) didn't do anything we didn't expect, but you can't give up 41 points in one half. That's been one of our traits," Mozzetti added.

"They're really tough this year," said Epps about her players. "They don't panic. When we are on our opponent's floor, you know they'll make a run. You have to withstand it."

The Tornado (6-1, 2-0) jumped out to an early 10-3 lead, but Shaler's Olivia DiNucci scored consecutive baskets to make it a four-point game.

DiNucci, however, picked up her second foul with 1:57 left in the first quarter and missed the rest of the first half.

DiNucci had scored all seven of the Titans' points to that point.

A 10-2 Tornado run opened a 20-9 lead with 6:38 before halftime. The teams exchanged scores over the next three minutes before the Tornado used their first-half finishing kick.

Bresnahan finished with a game-high 20 points while Kayla Gilliland added 10 points.

The Titans (5-2, 1-2) received 12 points from Jackie Sauer, one of three players named Sauer in the starting lineup, and nine points from DiNucci.

The contributions up and down the bench have made the Tornado a deep team, particularly during section play.

"These girls feel comfortable in tough situations. We have a very deep bench," said Epps.

BUTLER 61Lyndsy Day 1 2-2 4, Olivia Bresnahan 9 2-4 20, Karissa King 2 0-0 5, Erica Miller 3 0-0 7, Kayla Gilliland 3 4-4 10, Casie Cygan 1 0-0 3, Katherine Sylvia 0 0-0 0, Jenna Manuel 3 1-2 8, Amanda Dymun 1 0-0 2, Rachel Doutt 1 0-0 2, Ashley Onufrak 0 0-0 0, Casey Fleeger 0 0-0 0, Emily Wise 0 0-0 0, Becky Nowacki 0 0-0 0, Katresa Savisky 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 24 9-12 61.

SHALER 36Sara Knaus 0 0-0 0, Olivia DiNucci 3 2-2 9, Hilary Sauer 2 0-2 4, Haley Sauer 2 3-9 7, Holly Knaus 0 0-0 0, Jackie Sauer 5 2-2 12, Maria Bozzo 0 0-0 0, Val McQuade 0 0-0 0, Ashley Hohman 0 1-2 1, Beth Thomas 0 0-0 0, Jenna Conrad 1 1-3 3.

Totals: 13 9-20 36.

Butler 15 26 11 9—61Shaler 9 11 9 7—363-point goals: King, Miller, Cygan, Manuel; DiNucci

JV: Butler, 55-40 (B:Jenna Manuel 13, Rachel Doutt 11)

Monday: Seneca Valley at Butler