Butler girls fall to powerful NA squad, 62-43
BUTLER TWP — For one half, Butler did what it needed to do to stay with North Allegheny, but defeating the Tigers requires much more than that.
Down by just five points at halftime Monday night, the Golden Tornado saw their deficit steadily grow before shouldering a 62-43 loss at home to the defending WPIAL Class 6A champions.
It is the eighth straight loss for Butler (2-10, 0-3), though the game had a much different vibe to it than last Thursday’s 32-point loss to Norwin.
“We’re not satisfied with a loss, but I feel a lot better after this one,” said Butler coach Mark Maier. “NA had five girls on the floor tonight who will be playing college basketball next year and we were down just 30-25 at halftime.
“We played well at times, but just couldn’t sustain it. Rebounding and turnovers, we need to improve in those areas.”
The Tigers (8-1, 2-1) scored the first seven points of the third period, but Amelia McMichael and Jessica Chwalik drained back-to-back treys to cut NA’s edge to 37-31 with 3:22 remaining.
But the Tigers then embarked on an 18-7 run that began with a trey from Lydia Betz and ended with a pair of 3-pointers from Caroline Henderson. When the smoke cleared, NA’s lead had swelled to 55-38 with 4:46 left in the game.
“Butler is a good team,” said Tigers coach Spencer Stefko. “All their players can guard well and they are well-coached, but our girls stayed the course through some early struggles tonight.
“We don’t talk about being defending WPIAL champions and I’m pleased with the way the girls have handled it. Nobody cares about last year.”
The Tornado opened the game with a lot of energy. Chwalik hit two of her four 3-pointers in the opening quarter, after which Butler held a 16-14 lead.
A senior guard, Chwalik has provided Butler with a consistent outside threat. She scored 15 points Monday.
“I can’t say I’m surprised with her effort this season,” said Maier. “She’s been injured for a lot of her career and now she’s healthy. She’s a good shooter with a nice quick release.”
Betz, who led all scorers in the game with 25 points, hit three turnaround jumpers from the foul line and drained a trey to help the Tigers win the second period, 16-9.
Henderson added 11 points and Grace Heliger 10.
McMichael, who fouled out of the game in the fourth quarter, tallied 16 points to pace Butler, which will host Hempfield on Thursday.
NORTH ALLEGHENY 62
Kellie McConnell 4 1-2 9, Caroline Henderson 3 2-2 11, Lydia Betz 8 6-7 25, Grace Heliger 4 1-3 10, Vange Balouris 2 0-0 5, Cate Pingpank 1 0-1 2, Rae Shanahan 0 0-0 0, Leah Skweres 0 0-0 0, Emily Glass 0 0-0 0, Maddie Williams 0 0-0 0, Natalie Kinross 0 0-0 0, Audrey Robertson 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22 10-15 62.
BUTLER 43
Jessica Chwalik 5 1-1 15, Cameryn Booher 1 0-0 3, Sydney Patterson 2 0-0 4, Avery Maier 0 1-2 1, Amelia McMichael 6 3-3 16, Malina McElroy 1 0-0 2, Emily Cornish 1 0-0 2, Ashton Huff 0 0-0 0, Eva Stutz 0 0-0 0, Casey Clouse 0 0-0 0, Emily Hoffer 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 5-6 43.
N. Allegheny 14 16 15 17 — 62
Butler 16 9 8 10 — 43
3-point goals: North Allegheny 8 (Henderson 3, Betz 3, Heliger, Balouris); Butler 6 (Chwalik 4, Booher, McMichael).
Thursday: Hempfield at Butler
