Photo Courtesy of MP Sports Social Media (Nicole Miller)

The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk girls basketball took their first successful step on the tournament trail Saturday, rolling to an opening round regional win over visiting Central Lee 77-41. Mid-Prairie used a 15-3 first quarter run to build a 16-8 lead and was on top 26-16 at half. In the second half, the Golden Hawks poured it on, scoring 51 total points, and putting together 23-4 and 12-0 runs. Mid-Prairie shot a blistering 59% from the floor and hit eight threes at a 42% clip from downtown. The Golden Hawks won the glass by 21, had 24 assists and 21 steals. Brylee Gearhart led Mid-Prairie with an 18 point 10 rebound double double. She joined the KCII Postgame live to talk about her night and the win.

Gearhart said, “We came out and were a little rough to start. Then we got back in it and it just took off. We knew that we had to keep scoring or they were going to come back, and that’s what we did. We knew we had to get the rebounds, it was non-negotiable. We could not let them get as many shots up as they wanted. Our guards were really good at getting deflections, they played great defense. It was more about me just grabbing loose balls. (Dealing with the physicality) is about mental toughness, and tylenol.”

Morgan Bender joined her in double figures with 16 points and Izzy Kite scored 11. Olivia Swartzentruber and Jeorgia Evans each had four assists and Myli Hershberger four steals. Taylor Jones scored 10 for Central Lee. The Golden Hawks improve to 16-5 with the win and advance to Wednesday’s Region 4 Semifinal to take on rival Williamsburg who was a 55-15 winner over Fairfield Saturday. Central Lee ends their year at 11-12.