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Overland Park — It wasn’t the prettiest of performances, but a dominant first quarter and an aggressive defensive effort made the difference as the Bonner Springs girls basketball team beat Blue Valley Southwest 48-32 Tuesday at Southwest.

Photo by Chris Wristen

Bonner Springs' Emily Wilson shields the ball from a Blue Valley Southwest player after making a rebound during the Braves' 48-32 victory.

Photo by Chris Wristen

Bonner Springs senior forward Emily Wilson lays the ball off the glass for a bucket during the Braves' 48-32 victory at Blue Valley Southwest.

Bonner Springs opened the game on a 9-0 run and held Southwest scoreless for the first 4:02. Behind 10 early points from Erica Wilson, the Braves led 15-5 after one quarter.

“We knew coming in that this was going to be one of our biggest tests of the season,” BSHS coach Clay Oakes said. “They played us really tough last year and had a lot of good athletes, and they knocked out Mill Valley at substate. They’re a really good team, so we knew that we had to be at the top of our game coming in, play good defense, take care of the ball, work the ball around and get some good shots.”

Wilson established her presence quickly. She scored on a put-back just 12 seconds into the game, and then added another bucket moments later off of an assist from Anna Deegan. Wilson made a strong spin move in the paint and knocked down a jumper to give the Braves a 6-0 lead with 5:10 left in the first quarter, and Southwest immediately called a timeout. The next time down the court, Yessenia Hernandez slashed down the lane, scored on a floater and drew a foul. Her ensuing free throw made the lead 9-0 before Southwest finally got on the board with a put-back by Kyra Sprenger.

Southwest briefly closed to within six, but the lead grew to double digits by the end of the opening quarter.

Some sloppy play by the Braves during the first few minutes of the second quarter prevented them from adding to their lead. Meanwhile, Southwest earned five trips to the free throw line and converted enough to draw within 19-14 with 3:15 to go in the quarter. Bonner Springs responded by ending the quarter on a 9-0 run. Deegan scored five points and Emily Wilson chipped in four during that spurt and BSHS took a 28-14 lead into halftime.

The Braves’ offense stalled for most of the third quarter, but their defense kept Southwest from rallying. Two free throws from the Braves’ Erin Marx with 3:21 to go were the first points of the third quarter. The Braves soon built an 18-point lead before taking a 37-21 advantage into the fourth quarter and cruising the rest of the way.

Oakes pulled his starters in the final minutes and gave his reserves some varsity time.

The Braves made 39.5 percent of their field goal attempts, but their stout defense gave Southwest fits all night. The Timberwolves shot just 18 percent (9-for-50) for the night.

“We feel like defense is the strength of our team right now,” Oakes said. “We feel like everything revolves around our defense. The better we come out and play defense, everything else seems to fall in place for us.”

Brityn Like led Southwest with 10 points and Taylor Westrom added eight.

Erica Wilson led Bonner Springs with a game-high 17 points, Deegan and Emily Wilson scored 10 apiece, Hernandez scored five, Erin Marx had four and Haley Hoffine added two.

Bonner Springs (2-0) next plays Tuesday against Mill Valley.

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