Girls basketball: Burlington Central blows out Prairie Ridge in opener

Burlington Central's first-game jitters lasted about one quarter.

Once the second period began, the Rockets hit their stride in a hurry and went on to rout Prairie Ridge, 69-39, in the Central Thanksgiving tournament.

Freshman point guard Elana Wells scored 20 points while Kathryn Schmidt added 16 for the Rockets in their season opener.

Prairie Ridge led most of the first period. The Wolves held a 14-10 advantage when Wells' bucket started a 30-7 run that virtually ended the game before halftime.

Wells' steal and layup made it 40-21 late in the first half.

"I just think they were a little nerves in the beginning, missed a layup or two," said Central coach Mark Smith. "Then we got our hands on the ball and Elana had a huge quarter in the second quarter."

Wells scored 12 points in the period as Central outscored the visitors 26-10.

Wells added 4 steals, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Schmidt pulled down 7 rebounds, as did Mackenzie West. Zoey Kollhoff and Lily Moretti each added 9 points off the bench for the Rockets.

Karly Statter scored 15 points and Nicole Dorn added 12 for the Wolves, whose full-court pressure harassed the Rockets early. But once the Rockets solved it, it was off to the races.

Defensively, the Rockets' challenge was to contain the Wolves' 3-point shooters. They largely did so, especially in the second half, when the Wolves were 0-for-7 from beyond the arc.

"We really got out and ran the floor," Smith said. "We knew they were going to spread it out and try to shoot the '3.' I thought we defended it pretty well."

The Rockets' roster consists of 3 freshmen and 6 sophomores plus junior West. But they didn't look the part of an inexperienced team. They outrebounded the Wolves 33-20 and committed just 10 turnovers despite the frequently frenetic pace.

Prairie Ridge got within 50-35 by the end of the third quarter, but the Rockets responded by outscoring the Wolves 19-4 in the fourth quarter.