It didn't take long for the New Bloomfield Lady Wildcats to find their sweet spot.
New Bloomfield knocked down four 3-pointers from the left corner just in front of the Jamestown bench, triggering a fast start that led to a 78-38 win against the Lady Eagles in the first of seven games Saturday in the Capital City Shootout at Fleming Fieldhouse.
"That's our transition thing that we run to," New Bloomfield coach Brett Craighead said. "We look to get it, and if we have it, we take it.
"When you shoot the ball like that, it helps."
The 3-point shots fell often for both teams. New Bloomfield knocked down eight, but Jamestown made nine to account for more than 70 percent of its points.
"That's nice when both teams are shooting the ball well," said Craighead, whose team shot 59 percent from the field. "That makes for a better game."
Madi Craighead made New Bloomfield's first 3 to give her team a 9-3 lead. Parker Pitzen added three more 3-pointers in the first quarter from the same spot as Craighead's make, stretching the lead to 22-5 less than six minutes into the game.
The Lady Wildcats led 22-8 after one quarter, and then Craighead took over. The New Bloomfield senior guard scored 14 points in the second quarter and had all of her game-high 23 points by halftime.
"They went to a box-and-one on her," Brett Craighead said. "Once we got (the lead) up there, we were able to get some other girls in to get them some experience."
New Bloomfield led 45-15 at halftime. Jamestown could only make 3s against the Lady Wildcats' 2-1-2 zone defense in the first half and didn't make its first 2-pointer until the 4:09 mark of the third quarter.
"A lot of teams have zoned us this year," Jamestown coach E.H. Hirschvogel said. " It's hard for us to get anything going on the inside."
When the Lady Eagles were able to work the ball inside, it was passed to 5-foot guard Chiane Harlan, who was guarded by New Bloomfield's 5-11 Samantha Haas.
"It was unconventional for us to put our smallest person inside the paint, but she distributes the ball well," Hirschvogel said. "We thought, 'Hey, if we can't throw it into a big, let's get it to where Haas has to guard down.'"
Jamestown scored 20 points in the third quarter, but New Bloomfield still had a 64-35 lead entering the fourth.
An individual Shootout record fell during the second half.
Pitzen knocked down her fifth 3-pointer with 4:44 left in the third quarter, breaking the record of four in a single game held by five different players. She finished with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
"She is our little secret weapon at times," Craighead said. "People forget about her, but she can shoot the ball a little bit."
Then with 5:01 to play in the fourth, Jamestown's Blake Scholl hit her fifth three to match Pitzen's record. Scholl led Jamestown with 15 points, making 5-of-7 3s.
"I'm happy for Blake, she's a good shooter," Hirschvogel said.
As for other Shootout records, New Bloomfield made 27 2-pointers, breaking the mark of 24 set in 2015 by Hermann. Jamestown's nine 3s ties Owensville's record, also from 2015.
New Bloomfield broke the single-game scoring record of 70 points set by Owensville in 2015, but that record lasted less than three hours. South Callaway scored 80 points in its Shootout win Saturday against Eldon.
Although Haas was held to just six points, the New Bloomfield junior center grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds.
"We didn't need any help in the post, so we let Sam take care of it," Craighead said.
Harlan also had 10 points for the Lady Eagles.
New Bloomfield (7-2), ranked No. 7 in Class 2, hosts Belle on Tuesday. Jamestown (1-6) hosts Linn on Tuesday.