Seneca Valley claims first WPIAL girls basketball section title in nearly 50 years in win vs. Butler
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Butler's Sydney Patterson (15) passes the ball against Seneca Valley in a girls basketball game Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, at Butler High School. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Butler's Amelia McMichael (32) scores in a girls basketball game against Seneca Valley Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, at Butler High School. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Butler's Sydney Patterson (15) drives the ball down the court against Seneca Valley in a girls basketball game Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, at Butler High School. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Butler's Malina McElroy (1) attempts to block Seneca Valley from scoring in a girls basketball game Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, at Butler High School. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Butler's Amelia McMichael, back, celebrates her 1,000th point with Malina McElroy (1) in a girls basketball game against Seneca Valley Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, at Butler High School. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Butler's Amelia McMichael (32) attempts to steal the ball from in a girls basketball game against Seneca Valley Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, at Butler High School. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Butler's Amelia McMichael's family and audience members celebrate her 1,000th point in a girls basketball game against Seneca Valley Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, at Butler High School. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Butler's Amelia McMichael (32) looks at the scoreboard after scoring her 1,000th point in a girls basketball game against Seneca Valley Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, at Butler High School. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Butler's Sydney Patterson scores while Seneca Valley's Surina Vellody blocks in a girls basketball game at Butler High School on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Surina Vellody attempts to reach the net in a girls basketball game against Butler at Butler HIgh School on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Butler's Avery Maier attempts to score while Seneca Valley's Reece McFadden blocks in a girls basketball game at Butler High School on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Butler's Avery Maier attempts to score while Seneca Valley's Reece McFadden blocks in a girls basketball game at Butler High School on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Reece McFadden scores in a girls basketball game against Butler at Butler High School on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Vallet basketball coach Dorothea Epps celebrates her team's win over Butler in a girls basketball game at Butler High School on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley celebrates their win against Butler in a girls basketball game at Butler High School on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Butler's Eva Stutz steals the ball from Seneca Valley in a girls basketball game at Butler High School on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Butler's Amelia McMichael signals to her teammates in a girls basketball game against Seneca Valley at Butler High School on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Reece McFadden steals the ball from Butler's Sydney Patterson in a girls basketball game at Butler High School on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Reece McFadden hangs onto the ball in a girls basketball game at Butler High School on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Gracie Cato runs the ball down the court while Butler's Avery Maier tries to intercept the ball in a girls basketball game at Butler High School on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Butler's Amelia McMichael (32) runs the ball down the court during a girls basketball game agaainst Seneca Valley at Butler High School on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Butler's Sydney Patterson battles with Seneca Valley for the ball during a girls basketball game at Butler High School on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Butler's Amelia McMichael tries to steal the ball from Seneca Valley's Ella Omasits during a girls basketball game at Butler High School on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Ella Omasits looks to pass the ball during a girls basketball game agaainst Butler at Butler High School on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Seneca Valley's Brook Dufford (25) battles for the ball with Butler during a girls basketball game at Butler High School on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
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Butler's Malina McElroy (1) tries to prevent Seneca Valley's Natalie Hambly (24) from passing the ball during a girls basketball game at Butler High School on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
BUTLER TWP — It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it.
With its 57-53 girls basketball win at Butler on Friday night, Seneca Valley claimed at least a share of a WPIAL section title for the first time in 48 years.
After trailing for two-and-a-half quarters, the Golden Tornado knotted things up at 43 points apiece not long into the fourth frame and stayed within five the rest of the way. Earlier in the game, the hosts had gone over five minutes without a point, falling behind by 10.
A pair of 3-pointers by Nataile Hambly and Gracie Cato were quick replies to the Butler (9-9, 4-4 WPIAL Section 1-6A) buckets that tied it, then again at 48. Cato’s put the visitors up for good with 4:53 remaining.
“As long as we win by one, I don’t care what kind of game it is,” Raiders coach Dorothea Epps said. “We knew they were coming after us, and we knew that the McMichael girl was close to her 1,000 points, so we knew we had to guard. For the most part, we did a pretty good job.
“It was a good battle. It was a really good battle. They kept coming, and we kept coming back.”
Butler’s Amelia McMichael notched the 1,000th point of her career on a turnaround jumper in the paint with 6:22 to play. She paced the Golden Tornado with 22 points.
Golden Tornado coach Mark Maier sees a positive despite the loss. His team is still very much in the mix for a district postseason spot.
“Not counting the overtime (in the last meeting), we’ve played them eight quarters and we’ve been even for 7 ⅞ quarters,” Maier said. “We’re right there. We played hard tonight. ... If we played that hard the last three games — North Hills, Hempfield, (North Allegheny) — we win those.”
The responding treys from Hambly and Cato go to show the growth Seneca Valley (13-5, 8-0) has undergone from this time a year ago. Cato led her team with 15 points and Hambly added another 14.
“That’s what we’ve been working on all year long,” Epps said. “The year before, we would lose our composure. We would have leads, then we would lose our composure whenever they made a run. That was one of the adjustments we’ve been working on all season long is withstanding the punch and then coming back with the double punch.”
“We just come together and get the job done when we need to,” Cato said. “I feel like we’re always just ready to respond and ... find a way.”
Brooke Dufford, Cato pointed out, had an ailing shoulder, but fought through it to the tune of eight points and 15 rebounds. Reece McFadden hurt her ankle early in the matchup, but stayed in after walking it off and finished with 14 points.
Seneca Valley 20 14 9 14 — 57
Butler 16 13 12 12 — 53
SENECA VALLEY 57
Gracie Cato 6 2-3 15, Natalie Hambly 4 2-4 14, Reece McFadden 4 5-7 14, Brooke Dufford 4 0-0 8, Ella Omasits 2 0-0 4, Lilly Sperry 1 0-0 2, Legacy Joseph-Short 0 0-2 0. Totals: 21 9-16 57.
BUTLER 53
Amelia McMichael 8 4-5 22, Avery Maier 3 0-0 9, Eva Stutz 3 0-1 8, Sydney Patterson 2 1-2 5, Malina McElroy 2 0-0 4, Casey Clouse 1 0-0 3, Cameryn Booher 0 2-2 2. Totals: 19 7-10 53.
3-point goals: Butler 8 (Maier 3, McMichael 2, Stutz 2, Clouse); Seneca Valley 6 (Hambly 4, Cato, McFadden)
Monday: Seneca Valley at Woodland Hills; Butler at Pine-Richland
