WARDSVILLE - Only up by two about 9:30 into Thursday night's game against Warsaw, Blair Oaks needed a spark.
A combination of 3-pointers, rebounding and defense did the trick for the Lady Falcons.
Haile Rackers connected from deep twice, added a jumper and layup off a steal, and Brooke Boessen put in a second-chance basket as part of a 14-0 run.
The Lady Wildcats didn't get any closer than 15 the rest of the way as Blair Oaks won 63-40 in the Lady Falcon's first Tri-County Conference game of the season.
Three Blair Oaks steals turned into five points in the final 4 minutes of the second quarter.
"We talked about trying to get easy looks off of our defense," Blair Oaks coach Darren Heckman said. "We didn't get as many out of our press as we would have liked, but we did get a few in the second quarter. We rushed them a little bit, got them a little hurried."
Blair Oaks' lead was 34-17 by halftime and Rackers made another 3-pointer late in the third quarter for a 51-24 advantage, the largest of the game.
Rackers was 3-of-5 from 3-point range to tie for a game-high 13 points. Boessen had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Makenna Kliethermes was a strong presence inside for 11 points and six rebounds.
Aubrie McRoberts had 13 points and seven rebounds to lead Warsaw (5-11, 1-1 Tri-County Conference).
All 11 Lady Falcons touched the floor Thursday with 10 of them scoring.
Blair Oaks didn't have much of an issue with turnovers until the fourth quarter when it committed five of its 12 for the game.
"We're playing a lot of people and sometimes it gets hard to stay in a rhythm," Heckman said. "We've got to try to eliminate our turnovers. We had several unforced turnovers."
Taking care of the ball will be an emphasis for Blair Oaks (12-3, 1-0) on Monday against School of the Osage.
The Lady Indians have already defeated the Lady Falcons by a combined 10 points in two tournament games this season.
"In both of those games we had a lead in the fourth quarter and didn't finish," Heckman said. "A combination of things. Whether it was defensive lapses or offensively not putting in the hole at the right time. Turnovers were a big part of that. They are going to pressure us, they are going to guard us, so we've got to be confident and strong with the ball."
The freshman game will start at 5 p.m. with the JV to follow at about 6:15 p.m. and the varsity game tipping off at about 7:45 p.m.
Blair Oaks won Thursday's JV game 52-11.
Kaitlyn Kolb and Bailey Rissmiller each scored 12 for the Lady Falcons. Shay Turner added 11 points.