The Eagles girls basketball team broke open a close game in the second quarter and ran away from the Versailles Tigers on Thursday evening in a 71-16 romp.

The Eagles were only up by four points after the first period, then stretched it to 15-8 in the final seconds of the period, having played a nervous, mistake-filled first quarter.

But the Eagles successfully pressed the Tigers into one turnover after another in the next eight minutes.

Carrie Ponder hit a pair of 3-point shots, his sister Kate Ponder converted a pair of steals into layups and Sadie Giles, Gabbie Bruce and Dani Post all forced turnovers that led to points. It was a demolition quarter for the visitors as the Eagles went on a 23-2 run for a 38-10 halftime lead.

The Eagles continued their press in the second half, leading to a running clock for the final quarter. Reganne Scheer, Callie Barnett and Lexi Ussery played outstanding defense and moved the ball up and down the court for the Eagles.

“I think we shared the ball better tonight than we did in our first game,” said Eagles coach Tony Phillips. “We came out a little nervous tonight – it was the first home varsity game for nearly all of these girls – but we settled in and they let the defense do the work for us.”

Bruce led the Eagles with 16 points, Carrie Ponder had 11 and Barnett scored 9 points.

The Eagles are now 1-1 and will face Moberly at home on Monday and travel to Fatima on Thursday.