Neither the Hickman nor Alton, Ill., girls basketball teams got off to a particulary scalding start Saturday in the first round of the State Farm Holiday Hoops Invitational.
The game remained scoreless for the first four minutes of the game. But the margin wasn't quite as slim by the time the game wrapped up, as the Kewpies defeated the Lady Redbirds 65-24.
Hickman missed its first seven shots - plus two free throws, to boot - before Emily Miller hit a shot at 4:00 in the first quarter. Miller made the first six points of the game and finished with a game-high 22.
Alton missed its first six shots before finally getting a basket on a Lajarvia Brown shot with 1:13 to play in the first quarter. Brown led the Lady Cardinals with 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
The Kewpies began to widen their lead in the second quarter and ended the half on a 8-0 run.
Hickman forced 27 takeaways and had only eight turnovers of their own, six of which came in the first half. Alton shot just 31 percent from the floor to Hickman's 53 percent.
Hickman faces Helias at 7 p.m. today in the semifinals of the tournament. Alton plays Eureka at 4 p.m.