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TRACY - The Murray County Central girls basketball team entered Saturday's contest with Tracy-Milroy-Balaton averaging 63 points per game, while the Panthers have yet to eclipse the 50-point mark.

So when the Rebels opened the game on a 14-0 run, things didn't look good for TMB in the opening five minutes.

"We just didn't take care of the ball," said TMB head coach Ryan Kruse. "They were pressing and we knew it was coming, but we just didn't do a good job."

MCC's early aggressiveness helped build a lead that the Panthers would fail to overcome as the Rebels defeated TMB 68-49 Saturday night in Tracy.

"The pressure defense was there," said MCC head coach Tom Pryor. "We do a pretty good job on defense. The kids hustle on that and forced a lot of turnovers."

MCC (3-0) senior Colleen Everson helped set the tone for the defense with two quick steals in the opening two minutes of play and Abby Van Meveren started hot from the field, scoring four of the Rebels first eight points.

"Usually we like to get a good lead in the beginning, it helps in the second half when we're tired," said Van Meveren, who finished the night with eight points. "We only have seven girls that play a lot so we get tired really fast and having a nice lead in the beginning is good."

Van Meveren hit a baseline jumper with 16:41 to go in the opening half to give MCC a 6-0 lead and then set up center Emily Bose for a layup to give the Rebels an 8-0 lead.

"We have a little size advantage in there with Emily and Abby," Pryor said. "So it's easy to get some inside shots with them."

Bose finished the night with a team-high 30 points, six rebounds and three blocks. But there was a scary moment for the MCC standout following the game when she fainted in the locker room.

"She did not feel good all day," Van Meveren said. "At the beginning of the game she didn't want to play and she just stopped 10 minutes into the second half. She might have stomach flu, but she's not feeling too good."

The game was all but over when Bose left the game as the Rebels clung to a comfortable 28-point lead.

"She's been huge," said Pryor. "She can score against big kids or small kids, but she's a tremendous force."

The Panthers (0-3) were held scoreless for over five minutes to start the game but TMB junior Alyssa Becker ended the drought when she was sent to the line with 12:42 to go in the first half. She hit both free throws to make the score 14-2.

"We just said that we needed to refocus and keep playing hard," said Kruse, after trailing 14-0 to start the game. "There's not a lot you can do when they've got a 6-2 girl (Bose) and they were just feeding it inside. We did the best that we could."

The Panthers pulled to within 10 points after a M'Hesi Haugen jumper but the Rebel offense would heat up once again to close out the half scoring 25 points in the final nine minutes.

"Fastbreaks, basically that's all we do," Van Meveren said. "We practice those a lot."

MCC held a 43-25 lead at the half but the Panthers began the second half with some fire.

Shea Lanoue hit a short-ranged jumper and drew the foul in the Panthers' opening possession, setting her up for the three-point play. After she hit the free throw, TMB trailed by 15 but a 7-0 Rebel run put MCC back in the drivers seat for the remainder of the game. MCC's Kasey Schreiber also had a standout night finishing with 13 points and leading the team with five steals.

Becker led the Panthers with 13 points and eight rebounds.

"I thought we were aggressive going to the basket against their zone," said Kruse. "We weren't afraid to go in there. ... Catching and being ready to shoot, we did a good job of that (Saturday). We haven't had that confidence all the time."

TMB will be back in action Friday as hosts to Camden Conference rival Lakeview (0-3) while MCC hosts Red Rock Conference rival Westbrook-Walnut Grove (1-1) Thursday night in Slayton.

"We've got to remember to keep our intensity up and don't let down," Pryor said. "Sometimes when you have a big lead, you let down a little bit. That's why we set goals to make sure they are cognoscent of what's happening there."

MCC (68)

Alyssa Schmidt 3 1-6 8, Colleen Everson 3 0-0 7, LeAnna Homandberg 0 2-2 2, Kasey Schreiber 5 3-3 13, Abby Van Meveren 4 0-0 8, Emily Bose 11 8-12 30. Totals 26 14-23 68.

Three-pointers 2 (Schmidt, Everson) Rebounds 21 (Bose 6) Assists 21 (Everson 6) Steals 15 (Schreiber 5) Blocks 4 (Bose 3) Turnovers 21

TMB (49)

Lauren Schaar 1 3-4 5, Tiffani Karbo 1 2-4 4, Kate Johnston 1 2-3 4, Ashley Daniels 0 1-2 1, Alyssa Becker 5 3-8 13, Adria Dolan 0 2-3 2, Haley Hebig 2 4-8 8, M'Hesi Haugen 2 1-2 5, Shea Lanoue 2 3-3 7. Totals 14 21-37 49.

Three-Pointers None Rebounds 26 (Becker 8) Assists 13 (Haugen 3, Schaar 3) Steals 13 (Schaar 3) Blocks 4 (Lanoue 2) Turnovers 20.

Halftime Score MCC 43, TMB 25