4 out of 5 Isn’t Bad, Senior Night a Double Success

It’s that time again (time for another Wags’s Weekly Write-Up, that is). The season is rolling to a fast end and the Butler basketball program has its collective eyes on the postseason as we close week nine. With only a handful of games remaining, each one becomes that much more important than the one before it. This week was no exception with the girls hosting Mt. Lebanon, both teams at Shaler and celebrating Senior Night against North Hills.

First, the Shaler venture. The girls visited Shaler Monday night, coming away with a 47-37 victory. Butler was able to hold off the Titans due to a 10-0 run coming at the end of the third quarter. The boys, however, failed to defeat the top team in Section 3 Tuesday night, losing to Shaler 67-56. With only six minutes remaining, and Butler trailing by two, Joel Rehm connected on running lay-up to tie the score. The problem was that he was called for a questionable charge on the play canceling the basket. Everything seemed to go down hill from there.

Also on Tuesday, the girls returned home to defeat Mt. Lebanon 46-41. The game came right down to the wire, but the Lady Tornado was able to come away with the very valuable non-section win.

Finally, Friday night was Senior Night, the night where we as Butler basketball fans celebrated the 19 senior boys, girls and cheerleaders for their great efforts over the years. And their gift back to us? Two victories over the North Hills Indians on a cold, snowy night. First the girls took down the Lady Indians 56-46. Amy Achesinski had 12 points and Heather Spangler had 10. But Butler’s leading scorer on this night was Kelly Miller with 23 points.

The boys, in my opinion, are a team built for television. They love taking it down to the final second, and they did that again defeating North Hills 42-39. The Indians had one last shot to tie the game, but Bobby Freshwater was able to get enough of the shot to knock it off target, preserving the win. Tyrell Sales led Butler with 16 points as he climbs closer and closer to immortality in the lore of Butler High basketball. Nate Hartung and Joel Rehm also chipped in 7 points apiece.

Stat of the Week—Kelly Miller’s 23-point performance on Senior Night was a career-high for the junior point guard.

Upcoming Games: Girls at Franklin Regional (1/27/04 at 3:30 pm); Girls at Seneca Valley (1/29/04); Boys at Seneca Valley (1/30/04); Boys host Ambridge (1/31/04).

*An update on my personal schedule. I will be announcing the Ambridge game, but not the boys Pine-Richland game. I’m looking forward to it, but it will definitely be interesting as it is my last Butler boys’ game of the year.

**If for some reason you choose not to go to the Butler/SV girls game, and you’re interested in how former coach Jonna Burke is doing, her #1 ranked Bethel Park Black Hawks will be facing their stiffest test to date when they travel to Section 5 foe and #2 ranked Montour. [Rankings courtesy of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.]