BUTLER TWP — Things went well for the Butler girls basketball team once it got to overtime.

Getting there was the tricky part.

The Golden Tornado trailed visiting Hampton for much of the second half, then outscored the Talbots 10-2 in the extra period for a 52-44 win Wednesday night.

"I expected a hard game," said Butler coach Dorothea Epps. "Every time we get together with (Hampton) it's a struggle."

Butler's Olivia Bresnahan opened the overtime scoring with a 2-point bucket with 3:12 remaining. That gave the Tornado a 44-42 edge it would not relinquish.

Butler (13-3) went a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line in overtime and 16-of-20 for the game.

"I'm definitely pleased with that," Epps said. "We had been struggling late in games from the line."

Hampton (8-7) was able to get the big basket for much of regulation, but the team went cold in overtime.

The Talbots, who committed six turnovers in the period, saw their only two points in the extra time come on a layup from Mallory Schaffer with 15 seconds left.

"We just couldn't generate any offense in overtime," said Hampton coach Mary Bukovac. "We fell behind and then we had to start fouling. ... It just snowballed on us."

Butler entered the fourth quarter trailing 33-30.

But senior forward Amy Achesinski, the team's leading scorer, netted all 12 of the Tornado's points in the period to pull even with Hampton at 42.

Achesinski, who scored a game-high 24 points, got two of them on a basket with 30 seconds left to cut the Talbots' lead to 42-41.

She then added a free throw with less than 10 seconds left to tie the game.

"I felt that if we could get to overtime, we'd have a good shot," said Epps. "I guess we just needed five quarters tonight."

Achesinski, Bresnahan, Maria Baroffio and Karissa King each went 2-for-2 from the foul line in overtime.

Epps was pleased with the play of her bench players, which included Karissa King, Rachel Doutt and Erica Miller.

Doutt came up with a crucial rebound on a missed Hampton free throw late in the fourth quarter. She also added four points to Butler's cause.

"For a kid with not much varsity experience, I thought Rachel came in and did a great job offensively and defensively," Epps said.

Jodie Luther had a strong performance of her own, leading the Talbots with 19 points.

Butler barely outrebounded the Talbots, 26-25. The Tornado committed 24 turnovers and Hampton had 27.

"A lot of our turnovers were due to our indecisiveness with where the ball should go and where to attack a zone defense," said Epps. "Plus, we were trying to force the ball in to Amy for much of the game."

HAMPTON 44Erin Szurszeski 3 2-3 9, Alex DiBucci 1 0-0 2, Jodie Luther 8 3-5 19, Bre Goodman 3 0-0 6, Laurel Hansen 2 0-1 4, Mallory Schaffer 2 0-0 4, Christine Newby 0 0-0 0, Lindsey Wittmer 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 19 5-9 44.

BUTLER 52Rachel Barry 2 2-2 6, Olivia Bresnahan 4 2-2 10, Amy Achesinski 8 8-12 24, Maria Baroffio 1 2-2 4, Karissa King 1 2-2 4, Rachel Doutt 2 0-0 4, Erica Miller 0 0-0 0, Liz Schultz 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 18 16-20 52.

Hampton 8 10 15 9 2—44Butler 9 10 11 12 10—523-point goals: Hampton (Szurszeski)

JV: Butler 57-19 (B-Becky Smith 21 points, Kayla Gilliland 20)

Saturday: Uniontown at Butler