BUTLER TWP — West Allegheny's cupboard is bare. Butler wasted no time filling up the hoop.

The combination led to a runaway 62-17 triumph for the Golden Tornado girls basketball team Friday night in the first round of the Butler Christmas Tournament.

Butler (5-2) will take on Mohawk (7-1) in the tourney title game at 5 p.m. Saturday in the Tornado gym. Mohawk rolled to an 83-43 win over Greensburg Central Catholic in the opening round of the tournament.

“Mohawk has an outstanding team,” Butler coach Mark Maier said. “They scored 80 points tonight and their best player didn't play.

“They're in Class 3A and could contend to win the WPIAL title there. Their players are long and they're young.”

West Allegheny (0-7) is young as well and only dressed eight players Friday. The Indians do not have a junior varsity team.

West Allegheny finished 11-11 in Class 5A last year and won its section in 2017-18 with a 17-7 mark. This year, the Indians are averaging 15 points per game.

“We graduated eight seniors and have no varsity players back this year,” West Allegheny coach Jen Rogers said. “Basically, we're starting from the bottom.”

The Indians have no seniors on their roster. They started three freshmen against Butler.

“That's a tough situation they're in, being so young and with a short roster, but she (Rogers) is doing a good job with those girls,” Maier said.

Jordan Kauffman drained a pair of treys early and the Tornado shot out to an 11-0 lead before the game was two minutes old. Maklenna Maier drove for a couple of lay-ups during the early burst.

By quarter's end, Butler had a 23-5 lead.

“We want to play a fast-paced game and we had to keep that up,” Kauffman said. “Our style is to play fast. We didn't want to slump down in terms of tempo.”

Maier played 15 players, giving minutes to a few players who haven't played varsity before.

“There is a sportsmanship element to this,” the coach said. “We were subbing in everybody and it is hard to maintain a consistent game with so many changes.

“You do lose some intensity when you get a big lead. I was on the bench thinking, 'man, we're up 23,' so I'm sure the girls on the floor were thinking the same thing. They outscored us in the second quarter (7-6), but we played with more intensity in the second half.”

The Tornado outscored West Allegheny 33-5 in the second half and held the Indians scoreless in the fourth quarter.

Makenna Maier paced Butler with 18 points and had a handful of steals. Kauffman had 13 points and five rebounds.

Macklin Hanley came off te bench to score eight points, sinking a pair of treys.

“A game like this helps the girls (with limited varsity experience) with confidence,” Maier said. “Hanley is a nice example of that.”

Twelve different Butler players scored in the game.

“I know what it's like when you're a young player getting varsity minutes for the first time,” Kauffman said. “I'm sure they were nervous, but we cheered thm on from the bench and that helps a little bit.”

West Allegheny was plagued by 40 turnovers. Butler had only 12.

“No matter the score, our girls are working hard,” Rogers said. “Our school district is supportive. We have some coaches, even trainers, going on the court and playing during practice so we can run some things.

“The effort's there. In another couple of years, we'll be back up there.”

Butler defeated Mohawk in last year's tourney title game, 53-36.

WEST ALLEGHENY 17

Kayla Howard 2 3-4 7, Olivia Hellman 0 0-1 0, Emily Nolan 0 2-2 2, Madison Reiker 1 1-2 3, Catherine Martsolf 2 1-2 5, Brooke Eannace 0 0-0 0, Olivia Ginocchi 0 0-0 0. Totals: 5 7-13 17.

BUTLER 62

Jordan Kauffman 3 4-4 13, Makenna Maier 8 0-0 18, Aubree Tack 1 0-0 2, Emma Monteleone 2 1-2 5, Sarayne Forbes 1 1-2 3, Anna Michalek 0 2-2 2, Maisy Gibson 1 1-2 3, Macklin Hanley 3 0-1 8, Samantha Miller 0 2-2 2, Piper Geibel 1 0-0 2, Ava Selfridge 1 0-0 2, Kate Ogin 1 0-0 2. Totals: 22 11-14 62.

West Allegheny 5 7 5 0 — 17

Butler23 6 19 14 — 62

3-point goals: Kauffman 3, Maier 2, Hanley 2

JV: None

Saturday: Butler Christmas Tournament: West Allegheny vs. Greensburg Central Catholic (consolation), 3:30 p.m.; Mohawk vs. Butler (championship), 5 p.m.