JACKSON TWP — Butler girls basketball coach Dorothea Epps has no problem admitting that her team was desperate.

After all, it's that frantic approach that will keep her team in the playoff hunt.

Butler overcame a sluggish start and pulled out a 50-46 win at Seneca Valley Thursday night.

The Golden Tornado (7-5, 14-7) entered the game tied with Shaler for the final playoff spot from Section 3-AAAA.

And with Shaler's win over North Hills Thursday, Butler's victory keeps it tied with the Titans.

"We knew we had to win this game to stay in the playoff race," said Epps. "The girls came out and played with desperation, and it showed."

The win ended Butler's three-game losing streak while the Raiders tasted defeat for the first time in six outings.

With 2:05 left in the game, Butler was ahead 41-38 before Julie Ehrman hit a 3-pointer that increased the Tornado's lead to 44-38.

Seneca Valley never again cut its deficit down to one possession.

"Julie's 3-pointer was a big shot," said Epps. "(Seneca Valley) had been taking away a lot of her shots before that, but that 3 put the pressure back on them."

On the other end of the floor, the Raiders (9-3, 15-5) had trouble finding the hoop.

SV's first points of the final period were Kelsey Spencer's two free throws with 3:19 left, cutting Butler's lead to 41-36.

"We didn't execute very well, and we had a lot of turnovers that weren't forced," said SV coach Todd Schoeffel.

Butler's Amy Achesinski scored a game-high 24 points, surpassing the 1,000-point milestone in the process.

Her conventional three-point play with 4:09 left in the first quarter was Butler's first points of the game after SV had jumped out to a 6-0 lead.

The Tornado rallied to lead 12-11 at the end of one period.

Achesinski then scored eight of her team's 12 points in the second period, including a basket that beat the buzzer to give the Tornado a 24-22 halftime edge.

"The game Amy had tonight, it was enormous," said Epps. "She is such a competitor and has no problem putting this team on her back."

"The more touches she gets, the more confident she gets," Schoeffel said. "That's the way she works.

"They moved her from the low post to the high post, and it's tougher to double-team a player when that switch is made," he added.

Rachel Barry added 13 points for Butler, including seven in the deciding fourth quarter.

"We basically let them do whatever they wanted offensively," said Schoeffel.

The win completes Butler's sweep of Seneca Valley. The Tornado prevailed 47-37 Jan. 5 at Butler.

Notes:

Seneca Valley won the battle for rebounds, 20-16, … The Raiders committed 17 turnovers to Butler's 13, … Butler shot just 8-of-20 from the free throw line while SV was 10-of-17.

BUTLER 50

Rachel Barry 5 3-6 13, Lyndsay Day 1 0-2 2, Ashley Nocera 1 0-1 2, Amy Achesinski 10 4-7 24, Julie Ehrman 2 1-4 7, Michelle Ritchey 1 0-0 2, Samantha Karns 0 0-0 0, Elizabeth Schultz 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 8-20 50.

SENECA VALLEY 46

Kelsey Spencer 3 3-6 11, Chelsey Pavlick 8 5-6 21, Tina Mangola 3 0-1 8, Amanda Johnson 1 2-4 4, Jackie Mangola 1 0-0 2, Ryan Ingrassia 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 10-17 46.

3-point goals:

Ehrman 2; Spencer 2, T. Mangola 2.

JV:

Butler 34-33

Monday:

New Castle @ Seneca Valley; North Hills @ Butler