BUTLER TWP — The performance wasn't pretty, but it didn't need to be.

The Golden Tornado girls basketball team shook off a slow start, closed the third quarter with a flourish and held on for a 45-40 Section 3-AAAA victory over North Hills on Thursday at Butler High School.

The teams combined for 38 turnovers and 51 free-throw attempts, but the Tornado (7-7, 3-1) managed to prevail in the slugfest.

“They came up with plays when they needed to,” said Butler coach Dorothea Epps. “As long as you get that section win, that's the most important thing. It's a grind in this section.”

Butler committed eight turnovers in the first eight minutes of the game and trailed 12-7 after the opening frame.

“We didn't come out with any intensity. That's one of the things I was afraid of after that big win on the road at Shaler,” said Epps. “Sometimes, teams come out flat and that's what happened in that first quarter.”

Once the second quarter began, Natalie Barkus injected some life into the Tornado.

Barkus led Butler to a quick 8-0 run with four points, two assists and two steals during the surge.

“I thought Barkus did a nice job of getting them fired up,” said Epps. “She turns things around for us with her energy. You need that spark plug and she's been that spark plug.

“There were four or five minutes in that second quarter, they played really well,” she added. “They played like they can play.”

The offense stalled shortly after, but the defense remained stingy. The Indians (4-9, 1-4) mustered just one point in the second quarter, allowing Butler to take a 15-13 edge into halftime.

North Hills coach Tom Sandherr was frustrated with his team's offensive inconsistency.

“I think we give ourselves problems,” he explained. “We just have an inability to look to score and want to score and understand sets that we're running.”

Butler widened the gap with an 11-3 run to end the third quarter. Mackenzie O'Donnell found Alyssa DiPippa cutting to the hoop for a lay-up, before Sam Marak swung the ball to Cait Baxter in the corner and the senior swished a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Tornado a 32-24 advantage heading into the final stanza.

The extra cushion proved to be valuable.

Butler's offense was stagnant in the fourth quarter and the Indians cut the gap to 38-37 after a trifecta from Ciara Barry with 1:40 to play.

However, Baxter made four of six free throws down the stretch and Barkus converted a pair of foul shots with 17 seconds left to make it a two-possession game and essentially clinch the victory.

“Towards the end of the game, we played some good press defense and got after it and got some turnovers,” said Sandherr. “The girls played hard, but we have a lot of inexperienced people out on the floor and we're just not in that situation very often where it's a close game and you have to make good basketball decisions.”

Scout Cheeks paced North Hills with 13 points, while Sarah Treser pulled down a team-high nine rebounds and Jamie Halloran distributed four assists. Treser and Halloran also had three steals apiece.

Barkus tallied a game-high 14 points, four assists and four steals. Baxter — who was hampered by early foul trouble and didn't even attempt a shot in the first half — finished with 12 points and two assists, while O'Donnell recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Marak chipped in three assists and three steals.

NORTH HILLS 40

Sarah Treser 1-6 0-0 2, Jamie Halloran 1-3 3-4 5, Bre Bertram 4-9 1-4 9, Lexi Marx 2-8 4-11 8, Scout Cheeks 5-8 3-4 13, Brandi Williams 0-2 0-0 0, Ciara Barry 1-3 0-0 3. Totals: 14-39 11-23 40.

BUTLER 45

Cait Baxter 3-4 5-8 12, Sam Marak 0-1 1-3 1, Mackenzie O'Donnell 3-6 4-6 10, Kalynn Callihan 1-4 0-2 2, Natalie Barkus 4-5 5-8 14, Morgan Pfabe 2-4 0-0 4, Alyssa DiPippa 1-2 0-1 2, Lauren Bresnahan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 14-26 15-28 45.

North Hills 12 1 11 16—40

Butler7 8 17 13—45

3-point goals: North Hills 1-5 (Barry 1-3, Treser 0-2). Butler 2-7 (Barkus 1-1, Baxter 1-2, Marak 0-1, Callihan 0-1, Pfabe 0-1, DiPippa 0-1).

JV: Butler 35, North Hills 27 (B: DiPippa 11, Bresnahan 9; NH: Williams 9).

Monday: Butler at Seneca Valley, 7:30 p.m.