The Jefferson City Lady Jays held a comfortable lead against the Quincy Blue Devils heading into the final two minutes of the third quarter.
When the two teams took the floor for the start of the fourth quarter, that lead had gone from comfortable to insurmountable.
Multiple steals by Caitlin Anderson turned into easy baskets for the Lady Jays to close the third quarter as they posted a 65-31 victory Thursday afternoon against the Blue Devils in the opening round of State Farm Holiday Hoops Invitational at Rackers Fieldhouse.
"That really got us going," Jefferson City coach Brad Conway said. "We played some really good defense and got some layups. It was a good stretch for us."
The spurt turned a 16-point lead into a 24-point bulge at 50-26 with one quarter remaining. The 34-point final margin was the biggest of the game.
It was Jefferson City's first game in nearly two weeks and it showed at the start.
"I was afraid we might not get off to a good start and that's what happened," Conway said.
The Lady Jays, which never trailed in the game, took an 11-7 lead after one quarter on a putback by Ileah Chambly with :30 left.
The two teams swapped points in the second quarter as Jefferson City took a 26-18 advantage into intermission.
The Lady Jays got their offense going in the third quarter, with five players combining to score 24 points.
Hannah Nilges had eight points in the quarter to lead Jefferson City. It was her first game of the season after suffering an injury in the preseason Jamboree.
"You could tell she was a little nervous when she first got out there, but once she hit a shot or two, I think she calmed down and played well," Conway said. "She can be a weapon on offense for us, she showed that in this game."
Nilges finished with 13 points.
Sarah Linthacum, another freshman, led Jefferson City with 17 points. She had at least three points in each quarter Thursday.
"Sarah played well, she was strong around the basket," Conway said.
The Lady Jays finished with three players in double figures as Anderson finished with 12 points.
Linthacum and Chambly had seven rebounds each to lead the Lady Jays, who had a 39-18 edge in the boards in the victory.
Stephanie Anders had 14 points to pace Quincy, while Olivia Edwards added 10.
Quincy (5-4) will face Blue Springs South in the loser's bracket semifinals at 2:30 p.m. today.
Jefferson City (5-4), the defending tournament champion, will square off against Hickman in the winner's bracket semifinals.
"It's always good to go to the right side of the bracket," Conway said.
That semifinal is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. today.