BUTLER TWP — Butler shot poorly.

Latrobe didn't.

That's usually not a good formula.

The Golden Tornado girls basketball team had plenty of opportunities against the Wildcats in a non-section clash at Butler Monday night, but couldn't cash in on enough of them in a 46-44 loss.

Latrobe played zone from the opening tip to the final buzzer against a depleted Butler team missing two starters due to injury.

Butler couldn't shoot the Wildcats out of it.

“We had good shots, and I'm proud they weren't afraid to shoot it,” said Butler coach Dorothea Epps. “You just gotta hit shots when you're playing against a zone to loosen up the inside. We just weren't hitting shots and that was the difference.”

Butler (5-7) shot just 25 percent (16-of-64) from the floor. Latrobe (3-7), which snapped a four-game losing streak, hit 17 of its 39 shot attempts in the game.

Epps, though, was pleased that the misses didn't get inside the heads of her players.

The Golden Tornado kept firing away.

“The thing with this team is they continue trying to shoot,” Epps said. “I don't want them going into a shell because they missed a couple of shots.”

Butler started strong with freshman Jenna Kunst and senior Ronni Guiney starting in the place of Alyssa DiPippa and Tiana Schaffner. The Tornado built an early 9-3 lead.

But Latrobe, led by freshman point guard Laura Graytok, stormed back and led 22-21 at the half.

The Wildcats then began the second half on a 9-0 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 31-21.

Kalynn Callihan, though, warmed up, hitting all three of her 3-pointers in the second half, her final one tying the score at 39-39 with a little more than four minutes to play.

Callihan finished with 11 points.

Callihan had a chance to win it for the Golden Tornado at the buzzer, but her 3-point-attempt missed the mark.

Latrobe hit 7-of-8 from the free throw line down the stretch to secure the win.

Madison Kollar was 5-of-6 at the line and scored a team-high 15 points for Latrobe. Graytok added 14.

Still, Epps saw plenty she liked as the Golden Tornado head into the heart of section play beginning Thursday at home against Oakland Catholic.

“They're showing some resilience,” Epps said. “They're showing some aggressiveness.”

Julia Baxter is definitely one of the positives for Butler heading into the section slate.

The senior forward scored 17 points, despite an off-night shooting, and also had 22 rebounds and four blocked shots.

“We definitely know what we're capable of,” Baxter said.

Opponents certainly know what Baxter is capable of and heap lots of attention on her.

Baxter welcomes all of it.

“It's kind of exhilarating and exciting to be fortunate enough to be double-teamed,” Baxter said. “That opens up my teammates for shots.”

Butler expects to get DiPippa back soon. Schaffner's return is unknown.

LATROBE 46

Lucy Raymond 1-3 0-0 2, Rachael Kollar 0-1 0-0 0, Madison Kollar 5-11 5-6 15, Jacqueline Bracale 2-6 0-0 4, Regan McCracken 4-7 2-2 11, Alexandria White 0-1 0-0 0, Laura Graytok 5-10 1-2 14. Totals: 17-39 8-10 46

BUTLER 44

Ronni Guiney 3-8 0-0 6, Dani Hensel 2-11 0-0 4, Kalynn Callihan 4-16 0-2 11, Jenna Junst 2-6 0-0 4, Julia Baxter 4-15 9-14 17, Mia Rader 0-3 0-0 0, Kailey Olenick 1-5 0-0 2, Kelsee Callihan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 16-64 9-16 44.

Latrobe 12 10 13 11 — 46

Butler11 10 9 14 — 44

3-point goals: Latrobe 4 (McCracken, Graytok 3); Butler 3 (Kalynn Callihan 3)

JV: Latrobe 43-30

Thursday: Oakland Catholic at Butler