Girls Struggle While Boys Thrive in Pine-Richland

Good day ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to another wonderful edition of Wags’ Weekly Write-Up. Four games transpired while we were apart, two of which had a big impact, one that hopefully will, and another that is already forgotten.

This past Tuesday the Tornado boys team left it all on the court and benefited greatly through their hard work, receiving an upset victory over 11-3 and Section 3 foe Pine-Richland, 53-49. Butler dominated the road test early on with a fast 9-2 lead. P-R came right back to tighten the deficit to 17-15 at the first quarter break. But Butler, with injured Joel Rehm coming off the bench (wrapped hand and all), widened the gap once again, leaving the halftime score reading 33-23 in favor of the visitors. The boys largest lead came in the third quarter (13) but the Rams were far from dead. P-R outscored Butler 25-17 for the remainder of the game, but they just couldn’t make the comeback complete. Butler was led by Tyrell Sales with 15, Dan Andreassi with 12, Nate Hartung with 10 and Jarrod Markle with 8. Andreassi and Markle each had two treys as well for the Tornado.

The day before the Butler girls entered Pine-Richland with the same goal—a victory. Unfortunately the ladies were not quite as successful as the men, losing 60-47. Much like the boys, the girls came out early and played well, leading 24-16 with 12 seconds remaining in the half. P-R connected on two free throws and another basket to cut the lead to four, as well as stealing the momentum. Point guard Kelly Miller was saddled with three fouls early and picked up her fourth early in the third quarter, leading to the Rams outscoring the Lady Tornado 40-23 in the second half. Butler was led by Amy Achesinski with 15 points, Maria Klutinoty and Heather Spangler with 9 and Danielle Koehring with 8. Achesinski and Koehring each had eight rebounds in the losing cause.

In the other two games of the week, the girls rebounded Tuesday night with a road victory over Kiski Area, 65-48. Achesinski had 17 points and Samantha Karns added 11 in the win. Hopefully that will carry them on to Friday’s BIG game against New Castle. Last Saturday, the boys lost to Plum at home 42-38. It seems as if that loss had no affect on the boys’ mindsets going into P-R.

Stat of the Week—The Butler boys never trailed in their 53-49 victory over Pine-Richland.

Upcoming Games: Boys and Girls host New Castle (1/9/04); Boys at Cleveland St. Ignatius (1/10/04); Girls at Upper St. Clair (1/12/04); Boys at Kiski Area (1/12/04); Girls at Franklin Regional (1/14/04); Girls and Boys host North Allegheny (1/16/04).

*Just a reminder, due to me returning to college this Sunday night, The “Write-Up” will probably return to its normal weekend release. But check back here on Thursday and Friday just in case.

**Not that I need to remind anyone, but Friday night (1/9/04) the girls and boys play host to the “hated” New Castle Red Hurricanes in a double-header, with the girls varsity tipping off at 6pm. We need every able-bodied Butler fan and alum to be there to root like you’ve never rooted before. Don’t let the Red ‘n Black be louder than the Blue ‘n Gold!!!