BUTLER TWP — Both teams were looking for the big bucket. McDowell found it.

Sophomore guard Jordyn Hertz drained a 3-pointer with 1:27 to play Saturday afternoon, snapping a 36-36 deadlock and handing the Trojans a 39-36 girls basketball victory at Butler.

The loss marked the Golden Tornado’s second narrow defeat of the young season. They lost 36-35 to West Shamokin to begin the campaign.

“Hopefully, we’ll get one of these last-possession games to go our way soon,” Butler coach Mark Maier said. “We have to learn from these.”

The biggest lead either team ever held Saturday was six points. McDowell (1-2) had an 18-12 advantage late in the first half. Butler’s biggest lead was 29-25 with 44 seconds left in the third quarter. Mia Rader sank a pair of free throws to give the Tornado that margin.

Butler (1-3) sank 20 of 24 free throws on the day, but sank only seven of 28 shots from the floor. McDowell was five of eight from the line.

“That’s the good and bad of it,” Maier said. “You do that well at the line — and keep the other team off the line — you should win. We just need to execute better offensively.”

The lead changed hands six times and the score was tied five times, including three times in the final quarter. An Alyssa Eyth lay-up knotted the game at 36 with three minutes left.

The Tornado had a couple of chances to score after Hetz’s go-ahead shot. Jenna Kunsts 3-point shot missed with 33 seconds left and Rader’s desperation heave at the buzzer fell well short.

McDowell has only one starter — sophomore forward Julia Miller — back from last year. The Trojans start two sophomores and a freshman.

Nick DeSantis is their first-year head coach. He retired after years of coaching East High School in Erie.

“They merged those schools in Erie and I thought I was done,” DeSantis asaid. “This job came open and I figured I’d give it a try.

“We have an inexperienced team and it looks like defense will be our forte. I’m hoping it is. That would be a good place to start.”

Kunst had 14 points and six rebounds for Butler while Eyth had 14 points and five boards.

“That’s 28 of our 36 points,” Maier said. “That looks pretty one-dimensional. We need to develop that extra scorer.

“We sank one of nine 3-point shots in the second half. That was the difference. We’re a better shooting team than that, but until it transforms from practice into the games, it’s just talk.”

Miller paced McDowell with nine points and seven rebounds. Hetz had eight points and freshman Emina Selimovich six rebounds and three assists.

The Trojans won the game despite 17 turnovers. Butler turned the ball over only twice in the fourth quarter.

“Mia’s doing a good job running the point,” Maier said. “There are some positives. We just need to score a little more, simple as that.”

McDOWELL 39

Emina Selimovich 1-4 2-2 4, Megan Przepierski 2-2 0-2 4, Jordan Hetz 3-9 0-0 8, Courtney Herbe 2-2 1-1 5, Angelina Meola 0-1 0-0 0, Julia Miller 4-5 1-2 9, Kayla dFachetti 2-4 1-1 6, Ceciana Starocci 1-3 0-0 3, Sanibel Stravinsky 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 15-32 5-8 39.

BUTLER 36

Nicole Pepmeyer 1-1 0-0 2, Mia Rader 0-4 5-6 5, Alyssa Eyth 2-4 9-10 14, Jordan Kauffman 0-1 0-0 0, Jenna Kunst 4-11 5-6 14, Syd Hanratty 0-1 0-0 0, Morgan Gage 0-1 0-0 0, Julia Gibson 0-0 1-2 1, Emilee Altman 0-3 0-0 0. Totals: 7-20 20-24 36.

McDowell 7 11 9 12 — 39

Butler10 5 14 7 — 36

3-point goals: Getz 2, Fachetti, Starocci; Eyth, Kuntz

JV: Butler, 47-24 (B: Jordan Kauffman 12)

Monday: Butler at Moon