It took a quarter, but once the Jefferson City Lady Jays kicked it into gear, there was no looking back.
Trailing by three points to Parkview after the first quarter Saturday afternoon, Jefferson City pieced together an 11-0 run early in the second and cruised to a 59-33 against the Lady Vikings at Fleming Fieldhouse.
"It was good for the girls to play in a game in which they feel everyone contributed," Jefferson City coach Kristie Douglas-Wiley said. "We had a lot of balance and it was good to see.
"When you have everyone clicking on all cylinders, it can be fun to watch."
Both teams struggled early. Parkview, despite turning the ball over on four of its first five possessions, led 4-0 with 3:15 left in the first quarter. Jefferson City finally got on the scoreboard on a putback by Alexis Roberson with 2:50 left in the quarter, which ended with Parkview holding a 9-6 lead.
After a free throw made it 10-6, Jefferson City went on that 11-0 run in just 1:38 of game time to take the lead for good. Consecutive three-point plays by Roberson and Megan Foster started the spurt. Lexi Haug then hit a 3-pointer before a layup by McKenzie Gourley gave Jefferson City a 17-10 advantage.
Jefferson City outscored Parkview 21-4 in the period and took a 27-13 lead into intermission.
Haug, Foster and Roberson all scored five points in the second quarter for Jefferson City, which was 9-of-13 from the field in the period.
Jefferson City led by as many as 19 points in the third quarter, that coming after a steal and layup by Alaina Allsbury at the buzzer made it 43-24.
Allsbury, a 5-6 sophomore who was making her second start of the season, finished with eight points and six rebounds. Allsbury, along with 5-5 freshman guard McKenzie Gourley, have provided a spark for Jefferson City in recent games.
"Their energy is contagious," Douglas-Wiley said. "They're scrappy, they work hard on both the offensive and defensive ends and that's what you want."
The Lady Jays stretched its lead to 29 points on a couple of occasions in the fourth quarter before settling for the 26-point victory.
Foster and Roberson led Jefferson City with 15 points each. Roberson, who pulled down a game-high nine rebounds, came into the game early in the first quarter after foul trouble sent a teammate to the bench.
"This team has started to buy-in to the concept of having to step in for a teammate when it's needed," Douglas-Wiley said. "She did that today, she gave us a lot of energy and provided a punch inside."
Tyra Moore scored a game-high 17 points for Parkview (0-9), all coming in the second half. Parkview played just six players Saturday.
Jefferson City (6-6) is back in action Monday at Waynesville.
Jefferson City posted a 43-17 victory against Parkview in Saturday's JV game.
III
Jefferson City's 77-66 win last Monday against Eureka was the second highest scoring game in the history of the State Farm Holiday Hoops Invitational.
The 143 total points are topped only Jefferson City's 84-81 victory in triple overtime against St. Joseph Benton in 2011.