MANOR TWP, Armstrong County — For Knoch, it was because of an eight-minute second-half dry spell. In Butler’s case, it was due to the struggle of inserting less-experienced talent into spots left empty by departed stalwarts.

Both girls basketball teams were bested in their regular-season openers Friday night at the Armstrong Tournament. The Knights were turned away by Kiski Area by a 50-38 final, while the Golden Tornado lost to host Armstrong, 62-38.

Knoch, a runner-up in WPIAL Class 4A last year, had some trouble out of the gate. Less than six minutes in, they trailed the Cavaliers by 10.

“We’ve had a slow start in both our scrimmage games and today,” Andreassi said. “That’s my responsibility to get that figured out and get these girls better prepared to play ... We’ve just got to work hard, do what we do, and do it better.”

The Knights would shake the rust off and overcome the deficit with a surge in the second frame but, after going into the half up by seven, their offense went quiet.

They’d only sink one bucket in the third quarter. A scoreless stretch of 8:10 followed, allowing Kiski Area to take over.

“We didn’t make shots,” Andreassi said. “We had opportunities and then we just got stagnant offensively.

The Cavaliers would be in front the rest of the way after Lexiann Colaianni’s three that tilted the scoreboard in her side’s favor at 28-27.

“I never thought it was going to be easy,” first-year Kiski Area coach Dave Williamson said. “We jumped out to a little early lead, but we had that lapse ... I knew it was going to be a fight.”

The Knights beat the Cavaliers by 33 when they played last December.

“To come and get this one was special, man,” Williamson said, tears of happiness welling in his eyes. “That was a hurdle ... I’m emotional because it’s a big-time win.”

KNOCH 38

M. Vasas 6 0-0 12, Nina Shaw 4 0-0 9, Hattie McGraw 2 0-0 6, Adah Fuller 2 1-2 5, CeCe Kosecki 1 2-5 4, Naturelle Ewing 1 0-0 2. Totals: 16 3-7 38.

KISKI AREA 50

Abbie Johns 5 3-4 15, Lexiann Colaianni 7 0-0 15, Emma Peck 5 0-2 13, Rikiya Garcia-Broaden 3 1-2 7, Zoe Holm 0 0-2 0. Totals: 20 4-10 50.

Knoch 10 15 2 11 — 38

Kiski Area 13 5 17 15 — 50

3-point goals: Kiski Area 5 (Peck 3, Johns 2), Knoch 3 (McGraw 2, Shaw)

In their matchup, the Golden Tornado was behind for virtually the entire contest. Butler didn’t score more than 10 points in any period. Meanwhile, the River Hawks got a combined 35 points from sophomore Kyla Fitzgerald and junior Emma Paul.

Things looked a lot different than last year, when Makenna Maier and Aubree Tack — both of whom are now playing at the next level — were in command.

“The thing I was disappointed about was the controllables,” Golden Tornado coach Mark Maier said. “I didn’t think we communicated enough on defense. I didn’t think we gave enough fight. It’s one thing if you do all the right things and still lose by 23.”

As part of a good shooting night for the team overall, Armstrong’s Olivia Yancy nailed a trey with 0:10 left in the first half that stretched her team’s advantage to 14 points. Butler stared at as much as an 18-point hole on the scoreboard by the end of the third quarter.

“We were kind of chomping at the bit,” River Hawks coach Jim Callipare said. “We wanted to go against somebody other than ourselves ... We were ready to go.”

The Golden Tornado got scoring contributions from seven players, none of whom reached double digits. Bench player Avery Maier led the charge with eight. She hit a pair of three-pointers in the final eight minutes.

Knoch and Butler played last year in the first round of the same tournament, with the Knights walking away 39-37 winners. This year’s installment of the rivalry will tip off at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon.

“If you own it, then you’ve got a chance to improve on it,” Maier said. “That’s an eye-opener ... It got my attention, it got their attention. With a game like that, it’s better to play tomorrow than a week from now, because you can get it out of your system.”

BUTLER 38

Avery Maier 3 0-0 8, Justine Forbes 2 3-3 7, Tori Stevenson 1 3-7 6, Amelia McMichael 2 0-1 5, Hannah Aldridge 2 1-1 5, Madi McGarrah 2 0-0 5, Sydney Patterson 1 0-2 2. Totals: 13 7-14 38.

ARMSTRONG 62

Kyla Fitzgerald 7 4-4 18, Emma Paul 7 0-1 17, Sarah Weaver 2 3-4 7, Olivia Yancy 3 0-0 7, Sophia DiGregorio 2 0-0 5, Bella Yancy 1 0-0 3, Marlo Mellish 1 0-0 3, Kali Allensworth 0 2-2 2. Totals: 23 7-9 62.

Butler 10 10 8 10 — 38

Armstrong 19 15 12 16 — 62

3-point goals: Armstrong 6 (Paul 3, DiGregorio, B. Yancy, O. Yancy), Butler 5 (Maier 2, McGarrah, Stevenson, McMichael)