Bresnahan

PINE TWP — The Butler girls basketball team still has some kinks to work out, but that hasn't kept it from an unblemished record.

Olivia Bresnahan led all scorers with 27 points and Casie Cygan added 11 in the Golden Tornado's 58-49 section road win at Pine-Richland Thursday night.

Butler led 40-30 after three quarters before six Tornado turnovers made things a bit interesting late in the game.

Pine-Richland cut its deficit to 54-47 with Katie Wise's 3-pointer with 59 seconds left in the game.

But seconds later, Casey Fleeger drained two free throws to give Butler a 56-47 edge and the Tornado improved to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in Section 3-AAAA.

"We're getting a little better at finishing out games," said Butler coach Dorothea Epps. "I have to remember that a lot of these girls haven't seen a lot of varsity time. Come crunch time, there will be some mistakes made."

Bresnahan had nine points in the first half before scoring that amount in both the third and fourth quarters. She was 11-of-20 at the line.

"Bresnahan plays so aggressively and got to the line by driving to the basket," said Rams coach Joe Frank. "We have to move our feet quicker, step in and cut that off."

The Rams (1-5, 0-2) received 18 points from Emma Richert and 12 from Wise. Both senior guards, they combined for 12 points in the final period.

"Emma is playing the best basketball I've seen her play in four years," said Frank. "(Richert and Wise) are both four-year lettermen and bring so much experience to the floor. Everything we do on offense and defense goes through them."

Cygan's 11 points included three 3-point goals.

Butler won the battle for rebounds by a count of 45-28, including 28-15 in the first half, after which it led 28-22.

With a mix of veterans and young players, Butler continues to jell.

"The players are accepting their roles on the floor, and that's what good teams are made of," said Epps. "Everybody can't be a starter."

BUTLER 58Casey Fleeger 0 2-2 2, Katresa Savisky 0 2-2 2, Olivia Bresnahan 8 11-20 27, Amanda Dymun 1 5-9 7, Emily Wise 0 1-2 1, Casie Cygan 4 0-2 11, Jenna Manuel 2 0-0 4, Rachel Doutt 2 0-2 4. Totals: 17 21-39 58.

PINE-RICHLAND 49Abby Altman 1 1-3 3, Katie Wise 4 3-6 12, Kayleigh Jackson 1 0-2 2, Tori Pikur 2 4-4 8, Lisa Rader 0 2-4 2, Emma Richert 7 1-2 18, Carolyn Steger 1 0-0 3, Brittany Kilian 0 1-2 1, Kathleen Humes 0 0-0 0, Kara Peters 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 12-23 49.

Butler 12 16 12 18—58Pine-Richland 9 13 8 19—493-point goals: Butler 3 (Cygan 3); Pine-Richland 5 (Richert 3, Wise, Steger).

JV: Pine-Richland 44-40

Tuesday: North Allegheny at Butler