The St. Joseph Benton Lady Cardinals have become a fixture through the years at the State Farm Holiday Hoops Invitational.
The Lady Cardinals always seem to have a patient offense with a good outside shooter or two and play hard on the defensive end.
This year's edition appears to be no exception.
Benton scored the first 16 points of the game Monday afternoon on its way to a 68-33 win against Eureka in the opening round of the Invitational at Rackers Fieldhouse.
The Lady Cardinals stretched that advantage to 27-5 by the end of the opening period and led 41-15 at the half.
Benton led 55-25 after three quarters and the entire fourth quarter was played with a running clock.
The Lady Cardinals finished 26-of-47 from the field in the game, including a 7-of-13 performance on 3-pointers. They were also 9-of-12 on free throws.
Kylee Williams led Benton (8-0) with 26 points, including five 3-pointers. Daejah Bernard added 14 points, while Mia Henderson pulled down seven rebounds.
Madi Taggart had 11 points and six rebounds to pace Eureka (4-4).
Benton will face Jefferson City (8-2) in the semifinals at 5:30 p.m. today. Eureka will take on Alton, Ill., (1-8) in the first game of the day at 2:30 p.m.