Butler breaks 8-game losing streak with 67-55 win over Hempfield
BUTLER TWP — Even as the setbacks piled up, Mark Maier preferred to take things one step at a time.
“You take every possession, every game, every half independently and get better,” the Butler coach said Thursday night.
“It sure feels good to finally get a win,” Maier quietly sighed as his team’s lengthy losing streak fell into the rear view.
Prior to their 67-55 home win over WPIAL Section 1-6A foe Hempfield, the Golden Tornado (3-10, 1-3) hadn’t come out on the right side of a girls hoops contest in a month. In that time, they’d dropped eight straight by an average of 13.6 points.
Freshman guard Malina McElroy provided the momentum needed for Butler to put a stop to the skid — netting three-pointers on consecutive possessions late in the third quarter — and junior Sydney Patterson sprinkled in a few baskets during the 12-4 run that gave the hosts some breathing room.
“I feel like everybody was really giving me energy and hyping me up to hit those shots,” McElroy said. “Then, once I did, I feel like the whole team got energy.”
McElroy’s first trey fell with 1:22 to go before the final frame, answering a bucket by the Spartans’ Sarah Podkul on the other end and making it 44-43.
“I looked at (my assistant) coach and said, ‘Boy, that’s a big shot,’” Maier said. “In theory, sometimes coaches over-coach. In the back of my mind, I’m thinking, ‘Keep working it, keep working it.’ ... Sometimes you’ve just got to let people play.
“If somebody’s confident in making the shot, I don’t want to get in their way. Those were some big shots.”
Patterson pick-pocketed Hempfield (7-7, 0-4) about 40 ticks after McElroy’s second three-pointer and broke away for an easy lay-in. McElroy deposited a floater for the first points of the fourth and Patterson scored the last of her 17 points shortly after.
“It was just exciting to have the momentum back,” McElroy said. “I feel like we can win our next few games.”
Just like that, the Golden Tornado had a dozen-point advantage.
“It just got everyone going, so that felt really good,” Patterson said.
Maier pointed out the strength of each of the squads his lost during the win drought, with each of them either at or nearing 10 wins at this point in the campaign.
“You’re never as bad as you think after a loss, you’re never as good as you think you are after a win,” Maier said. “We teach the girls, ‘’One possession at a time. Don’t let a missed shot affect the next one. ... Don’t let a loss affect the next game.’“
Over a span of 5:57 that stretched into the fourth quarter, Butler gave up just four points. The Spartans shot 1-for-13 (7.6%) with a turnover during that portion of the contest.
“We just got cold,” Hempfield coach Bob Madison said. “We just stopped making shots. We missed some really easy lay-ups when we got out in transition and then it kind of just snowballed on us a little bit. In a game like this, when you get easy opportunities, you’ve got to take advantage of them.”
The lead had changed hands three times before McElroy took it for good with her initial make from beyond the arc. Amelia McMichael added 19 points and Avery Maier 11 in the victory.
At the end of the night, Butler owns a playoff spot.
“There aren’t any must-wins, but if there is one, that was it,” Maier said.
The Golden Tornado will visit Pine-Richland Monday.
HEMPFIELD 55
Sarah Podkul 8 2-4 21, Ashley Hosni 8 2-2 19, Allison Cervola 3 1-2 8, Mia Shipman 1 1-2 3, Mads Pevarnik 1 0-0 2, Gabby Coccia 1 0-2 2. Totals: 22 6-12 55.
BUTLER 67
Sydney Patterson 6 5-6 17, Amelia McMichael 7 1-1 16, Avery Maier 4 3-4 14, Malina McElroy 3 0-0 8, Jessica Chwalik 2 0-0 6, Cameryn Booher 0 2-2 2, Ashton Huff 1 0-0 2, Casey Clouse 1 0-0 2. Totals: 24 11-13 67.
Hempfield 15 17 13 10 — 55
Butler 15 17 17 18 — 67
3-point goals: Butler 8 (Maier 3, Chwalik 2, McElroy 2, McMichael); Hempfield 5 (Podkul 3, Hosni, Cervola)
