FOX CHAPEL - Fox Chapel got off to its usual start, which normally means bad news for the Foxes.

But Butler didn't get started at all.

The Golden Tornado failed to take advantage of nine first-quarter Fox Chapel turnovers and missed 23 of their first 26 shots from the floor in dropping a 46-38 girls basketball decision Monday night.

"We didn't come out focused. We didn't come out ready to play," Butler coach Dorothea Epps said. "And we didn't take advantage of their early mistakes.

"I was afraid of this game. I could see it in our girls' eyes coming down here."

Fox Chapel (4-4, 2-1) turned the ball over six times before even getting off a field goal attempt. The Foxes played without point guard and leading scorer Lauren Cowher (17 ppg.), who missed the game with a sprained ankle.

Despite the early opportunities, Butler (5-5, 0-2) could build just a 6-2 lead in the game's first six minutes.

"We've been starting games like this almost every night," Fox Chapel coach Jeremy Bennett said. "We keep falling behind by big margins right away and put ourselves in holes we can't climb out of.

"Tonight, we were fortunate. That score could have been 8-0, 10-0, 12-0. … But our defense may have something to do with their missed shots."

The Foxes outscored Butler 16-4 in the second quarter as sophomore guard Catlyn Kriston got hot from outside. She scored 12 of her game-high 15 points in the second period.

Leading 20-11 at halftime, the Foxes led by as much as 26-13 with 5:25 left in the third quarter.

"Of those 23 shots we missed early, most of them were bad shots," Epps said. "We weren't running our offense, we weren't rebounding, we weren't playing good defense. We weren't doing much of anything right."

Kelly Miller scored eight of her 12 points in the third quarter and Butler pulled to within 39-34 with 1:36 left in the game before Butler's Samantha Karns stole the ball at mid-court and drove for a layup the other way.

But senior forward Abydee Butler answered with a layup of her own for Fox Chapel and the Foxes hit five free throws in the final 1:05 to put the game away.

Carrie DeStout contributed 10 points - all in the third quarter - for Fox Chapel. Erin Cooper had nine rebounds and Bethany Thompson seven boards as the hosts had a 33-31 rebounding advantage.

"This was a must win for us," Bennett said. "We had lost two in a row and in this section, you have to win at home.

"When you play Butler, you have to keep Kelly Miller from penetrating the lane. We did a good job of that tonight. We kept switching off on who was guarding her because one girl can't do it for an entire game."

Amy Achesinski had 10 points and eight rebounds for the Tornado. Karns added eight rebounds and Ashley Nocera had four steals.

Fox Chapel had 22 turnovers to Butler's 14.

"We played better in the second half, but it was too late," Epps said. "Now we've put ourselves in a hole in the section. We can still fight out of it, but do I call Wednesday's game against Shaler a must win? Absolutely."

Epps refused to blame her team's poor start on its recent flight home from Las Vegas, where it won three of four games.

"I'm not using any jet lag excuse," she said. "A lot of other teams play in out-of-town tournaments, get home and take care of business. We didn't."

BUTLER 38

Rachel Barry 0-2 0-0 0, Karissa King 1-5 2-5 4, Kelly Miller 6-15 0-2 12, Kala Schnur 0-1 0-0 0, Liz Schultz 2-3 0-0 4, Ashley Nocera 1-6 0-0 3, Kelly Crater 0-2 1-2 1, Amy Achesinski 3-11 4-8 10, Maria Baroffio 0-2 0-0 0, Samantha Karns 1-6 2-2 4, Micjelle Ritchey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 14-53 9-19 38

FOX CHAPEL 46

Carrie DeStout 5-9 0-0 10, Sam Gillette 0-1 0-0 0, Katie Sheerer 3-4 3-5 9, Steph Graham 0-0 0-0 0, Erin Cooper 2-3 2-4 6, Catlyn Kriston 6-9 0-0 15, Bethany Thompson 1-6 1-2 3, Abydee Butler 1-5 1-2 3. Totals: 18-37 7-14 46

3-point goals: Nocera; Kriston 3

JV: Butler, 34-22 (B-Crater 7)

Wednesday: Shaler @ Butler