Turnaround in motion
Butler girls basketball tops Latrobe, 68-38, surpasses win total from all of last season

By Mike Kilroy 
Eagle Staff Writer 


BUTLER TWP — Alyssa Eyth emerged from
Butler's locker room with a butterfly bandage on her left eyelid. 
The junior guard/forward for the
Butler girls basketball team wore it like a badge of honor. 
Eyth and her Golden Tornado teammates got beat up a lot last season. 
So far this year, Eyth and
Butler are doing the bludgeoning. 
“Yeah, you could say a big difference from last year,” Eyth said, a beaming smile on her face. “We're just starting to click, playing hard and playing well together.” 
Butler shredded visiting Latrobe Wednesday night, jumping out to a 22-5 lead after one quarter, a 45-18 advantage at the half and pressed a hightop to the neck of the Wildcats with a 13-0 barrage in the first two minutes of the second half to make it 58-18 on the way to a 68-38 win. 
The Golden Tornado hit 13 3-pointers and shot a scorching 65 percent from behind the arc. 
They made more 3-pointers than Latrobe, which came in averaging 68 points per game, had field goals (12). 
“We're starting to get it,” Eyth said. 
Eyth missed a large chunk of last season recovering from a knee injury. Now 100 percent, she has been one of the difference makers for
Butler (4-2), which has already exceeded its victory total from last season. 
Eyth was 4-for-4 from the field — including two 3-pointers — and 2-for-2 at the line for 12 points against Latrobe. 
Eyth serves a special role for the Golden Tornado as a hybrid guard/forward. 
Butler coach Joe Lewandowski calls her the “point forward” for the Golden Tornado. 
“One of the toughest things to be is be the hybrid that can play inside and outside,” Lewandowski said. “We talked to her and told her she's our point forward — she can get that ball and zip it out. When it hits her hands, she can score, but what she does so well is she can find people.” 
Eyth and her teammates found Kylee Lewandowski a lot. 
The 6-foot freshman scored a game-high 20 points and hit six of the 3-pointers. 
She hit three of them in the first two minutes of the second half. 
Seven players scored for
Butler. Mia Rader added nine points in three 3s, Julia Gibson came off the bench for nine points and Jenna Kunst scored eight, but added six assists. 
“You never want to look back, but you have to to keep evaluating,” Coach Lewandowski said. “Every game I feel like we're getting a little better. We keep chipping away. The older girls are doing a great job with the younger girls who are just getting their first experience.” 
Butler averaged just 38 points per game last season, but had 45 at the half Wednesday. 
“We're having fun,” said Rader. “It definitely feels good, but our halftime score isn't the final score and we had to come out and do it again in the second half.” 
The Golden Tornado also limited Latrobe's leading scorer, Laura Graytok — who scored 40 against
Karns City in the season-opener — to two points at the half and seven in the game. 
Butler leads all of WPIAL 6-A in defense, surrendering a stingy 35 points per game. 
“What is giving us opportunities is we continue to guard,” Coach Lewandowski said. “When you continue to guard, what happens is you can weather storms when you're not shooting well. 
“All the credit goes to the girls,” the coach added. “They want it.”
LATROBE 38 

Emily Stein 1-12 3-4 5, Alex White 2-4 2-3 6, Laura Graytok 2-7 2-2 7, Mackenzie Marckle 2-4 1-2 6, Bethanny Havrillo 1-3 1-1 3, Regan McCracken 2-6 2-2 7, Sydney Mizikar 0-0 0-0 0, Carly Augustine 1-1 1-2 3, Kayla White 0-0 0-0 0, Lex Pynos 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 12-39 12-16 38. 
BUTLER 68 
Audrey Hilliard 3-6 0-0 7, Mia Rader 3-4 0-0 9, Alyssa Eyth 4-4 2-2 12, Kylee Lewandowski 6-11 2-3 20, Jenna Kunst 2-6 4-4 8, Nicole Peppmeyer 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan Kaufman 0-1 0-0 0, Julia Gibson 4-4 1-2 9, Morgan Gage 0-1 0-0 0, Sydney hanratty 1-1 0-0 3, Heidi Gross 0-0 0-0 0, Emilee Altman 0-1 0-0 0, Emma Monteleone 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 23-40 9-11 68. 
Latrobe 5 13 8 12 — 38 
Butler22 23 16 7 — 68 
3-point goals: Latrobe 2 (Grayock, McCracken);
Butler 13 (Hilliard, Rader 3, Eyth 2, Lewandowski 6, Hanratty)