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Butler girls basketball coach Jonna Burke attempted to call a timeout on Wednesday night when she saw her point guard Kelly Miller was triple covered with nowhere to go.

But Miller didn't want a stop in play.

She was determined to make up for a mistake she made seconds earlier which cost the Golden Tornadoes.

Miller found teammate Danielle Koehring wide open under the basket with 3.7 seconds remaining Koehring made the layup and was fouled. She completed the three-point play to give Butler a, 55-54, victory over Montour in a WPIAL Quad-A game at North Allegheny High School.

"I knew I messed up when I got called for traveling (seconds before) so I wanted to do something to make up for it," Miller said. "So when I saw I was tripled covered I knew I couldn't take the shot and then I just looked under the hoop and saw Danielle."

Burke also saw Koehring was alone, but was not sure Miller did.

"I thought Kelly was in trouble so I was signaling for a timeout," Burke said. "But I guess she didn't see me. Then I watched the shot go in, and everything was good."

Butler (21-4) goes on to play Upper St. Clair in a quarterfinal on Saturday at a time and place to be determined. The fact the game came down to the wire was not a surprise to Burke, who said her team has been involved in many last-minute games this season.

The Golden Tornado had several opportunities to win before the final seconds yesterday. Butler jumped to a 13-8 first quarter lead and was ahead 26-24 at the half. The Golden Tornado came out after halftime and opened up to a 35-24 lead at the at the 6:02 mark of the third quarter on a left-handed layup by Bowling Green recruit Kim Nowakowski. She finished with 18 points while teammate Maura Connelly added 11. Samantha Woznichak of Montour (17-5) led all scorers with 20 points while teammate Elena Radenkovik had 12.

Two of Woznichak's points came as part of a 7-0 run midway through the third quarter.

She got the Spartans to within one, 50-49, at the 2:01 mark. Butler answered with a basket by Nowakowski and led 52-49. Woznichak tied the score at 52 apiece with a 3-point shot from the corner. Montour took its first lead of the second half on a pair of foul shots by Andrea Snyder with 14 seconds to play.

"I think we started out slow in the beginning and then their run in the third really hurt us," Montour coach Denny Hopper said. "We didn't want everyone to surround (Miller) on that last play, but that is not the way it happened. This was a great game. I knew it would be. If I was not the coach I would have paid to see this one."

He certainly would have got his money's worth.

Burke agreed it ranks as one of her favorites.

Especially when she watched with her hands in the form of a T for a timeout. Her players took the ball the length of the court where Miller ended up smothered in the corner before finding Koehring for the three-point play to win the game.

"I was hoping she would see me," Koehring said. "When I was at the foul line I kept telling myself it is just like practice, it is just like practice. I knew I had to do this for our seniors, because I didn't want it to be our last game."

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