BUTLER TWP - The eight-point lead looked nice, but Butler girls basketball coach Dorothea Epps knew it could be tenuous.

The Tornado held that advantage against Hampton following an 11-0 run with 6:37 remaining in Wednesday's non-section contest.

The Talbots closed out the game scoring 10 of the final 13 points, including three in the final 13 seconds, for a 50-49 non-section victory.

Reserve Ashley Florijan scored all five of her points in the final 38 seconds of the game to lead the Talbots' late charge.

"Hampton's a veteran team with (Maria) Milfeit and others and they came back," said Epps. "We knew we weren't going to keep an eight-point lead.

"We made some mistakes. We knew it would be a shaky situation with the personnel we had out there," Epps added.

Butler (2-2) used 11 players, including freshman Karissa King, sophomores Rachel Barry and Maria Baroffio, and junior Abby Herrit running the floor.

Butler led 44-36, thanks to an 11-0 spurt highlighted by a three-point play, two free throws and a putback by Samantha Karns.

"Against Seneca Valley the other night we almost came back, so I thought we had a chance," said Hampton coach Gary Wilson. "If we could get the right combination out there, we could do it."

But the Talbots answered with a basket by Molly Cody and a pair of free throws by Jen Cangilla to trim the deficit to four points.

Amy Achesinski scored underneath for the Tornado with 4:43 left, but a score and two free throws by Cangilla pulled the Talbots (2-2) to within two points at 46-44 with 3:27 left.

Hampton missed a chance to tie at 2:19 when Emma Reed missed two free throws.

Achesinski scored again with 1:44 remaining, but Milfeit made a free throw 21 seconds later to make it 48-45.

The Tornado had a chance to gain a little more breathing room, but Baroffio missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 1:01 left and King did likewise with 47 seconds left.

Florijan scored her first points of the game with 38 seconds left, but Julie Ehrman sank the first of two free throws with 20 seconds left to give Butler a two-point lead.

With 13 seconds left, Florijan scored on a layup to tie the game, then was fouled by Baroffio when she corralled the inbounds pass with 8.9 seconds remaining.

Florijan missed the first free throw, but made the second for the Talbots' first lead since 28-26 early in the third quarter.

"She's a gamer," said Wilson. "I wasn't sure how she would perform. She played a little bit earlier in the game and then I put her back in later."

Florijan had an ankle injury and was one of three players who have missed time this season due to injury.

Butler had one final shot, but Baroffio's attempt from just inside the top of the key was off the mark and Hampton got the rebound as time expired.

"In the first half, we just didn't rebound," said Epps. "We knew they would come out into a zone. … We have to hit shots when they're playing in the zone."

Epps went deep into her bench again, giving her young players some valuable game experience, which the squad will need when it begins section play Monday against Pine-Richland.

"Any of these girls can spark you," said Epps. "That's what we like about this team. We're deeper than in the past.

"The girls have to play out there with confidence. We tell them 'We believe in you, so believe in yourself. Go out and play your game. You wouldn't be out there if we didn't believe in you. Don't back down.'"

Notes:

Achesinski led all scorers with 21 points while Karns added nine. Milfeit led the Talbots with 16 points and Cangilla added 10 … Epps is optimistic that injured senior guard Kelly Miller will be ready to play for Monday's game. Miller suffered a knee injury in the championship game of the Bethel Park Tip-Off Tournament last Saturday.

HAMPTON 50

Jen Cangilla 3 4-4 10, Caraline Cody 1 0-0 2, Maria Milfeit 6 4-6 16, Raeann Szelong 2 0-2 5, Emma Reed 3 0-5 6, Molly Cody 1 2-4 4, Ashley Florijan 2 1-2 5, C.J. Graham 1 0-0 2, Jodie Luther 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 11-23 50.

BUTLER 49

Samantha Karns 2 5-5 9, Maria Baroffio 0 0-1 0, Amy Achesinski 8 5-6 21, Rachel Barry 1 3-4 6, Julie Ehrman 2 1-2 6, Kala Schnur 1 0-0 3, Kate DeGeorge 1 0-0 2, Michelle Ritchey 0 0-0 0, Abby Herrit 1 0-0 2, Elizabeth Schultz 0 0-0 0, Karissa King 0 0-1 0. Totals: 16 14-19 49.

3-point goals:

Szelong; Barry, Ehrman, Schnur

JV:

Butler, 39-35 (B: Abby Herrit, Michelle Ritchey, Megan Spangler 8)

Monday:

Pine-Richland at Butler