Butler girls basketball rallies to beat Pine-Richland, stay in thick of WPIAL Section 1-6A race

January 10, 2025 Last Updated: January 10, 2025 10:53 PM Sports

BUTLER TWP — Mark Maier would like things to go more smoothly for an entire 32 minutes, but the head coach will take what he saw in the second half Friday night.

Butler girls basketball went on a 21-0 run in the second half, completely turning around what had been a listless performance until halftime with a 53-44 comeback win in WPIAL Section 1-6A action against Pine-Richland at Butler High School.

It was the kind of victory — and second-half performance fueled by a defense that allowed a paltry seven points after coughing up 37 the first 16 minutes — a coach dreams of seeing for an entire game.

“Super, super proud of the way they played the second half,” Maier said.

The Golden Tornado handed the Rams their first section loss of the season and made sure they’d stay in the thick of the playoff race in Class 6A with the win. And the second half provided a glimpse of the team’s ceiling when firing on all cylinders.

Butler (8-6, 3-1) simply had no answer for the Rams’ size in the first half, with Pine-Richland forwards Maren Iski (6 feet) and Rebekah Shaffer (6-1) combining with 6-1 guard Cate Gentile for simple over-the-top passes through the key. Butler stuck guard Malina McElroy (5-6) — in for absent point guard Sydney Patterson (illness) — on Gentile much of the night, and Gentile, who came in averaging 19.2 points a game, spearheaded an offense that took off in the second quarter to build a big advantage.

But that changed in the third. Players asked for a switch from the zone defense they ran much of the first half to man. Maier obliged, and Butler resurrected itself with forced turnovers and increased half-court pressure.

The result: a reborn offense that went on a 21-0 run to overtake the Rams (4-9, 3-1) and storm ahead 48-41. Butler never trailed again.

“I said, ‘OK, you’re calling me out? Let’s see if you can play man,’” Maier said of the halftime conversation. “And they sure did, they gave up only seven points. Which is huge — that’s such a huge 30-point differential from half to half. Never happens.”

“We were trying to trap too much because they’re taller than us, and then we were getting back-cut and they were getting wide-open layups,” said McElroy, who finished with 16 points, including a dagger 3-pointer in the fourth that maintained the lead. “So we decided to go man, which still wasn’t working, but we switched our energy at half and played a lot more like a team.”

The win keeps the Tornado a game behind section leader Seneca Valley, which beat Butler earlier in the week, with the second half of league play looming. The Tornado hope the game’s second half can fuel a similar burst going forward.

“I think we just need to start stronger because we know we can play that good, and we’ll blow other teams out instead of having to come back and make it close,” McElroy said.

Star forward Amelia McMichael finished with a game-high 24 points for Butler, draining three 3-pointers in the final two quarters after an inconsistent opening half.

After allowing them to score 23 combined points in the first 16 minutes, Butler held Gentile to 17 total points and Shaffer to 13.

Butler visits North Allegheny on Tuesday.

Pine-Richland 13 24 4 3 — 44

Butler 14 11 16 12 — 53

PINE-RICHLAND 44

Maddie Meabon 0 0-0 0, Maren Iski 4 0-0 8, Zoe Cook 3 0-0 6, Rebekah Shaffer 5 3-4 13, Cate Gentile 7 2-3 17, Claire Cook 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 5-7 44

BUTLER 53

Malina McElroy 6 2-2 16, Cam Booher 0 0-0 0, Avery Maier 2 3-4 7, Amelia McMichael 8 3-4 24, Casey Clouse 0 0-0 0, Eva Stutz 2 0-0 6, Emily Hoffer 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 8-12 53

3-point goals: Pine-Richland 1 (Gentile); Butler 9 (McElroy 2, McMichael 5, Stutz 2)