ARLEE — On Thursday night the Eureka Lions and Arlee Scarlets faced off in the Mission Valley. From the opening tipoff to the final buzzer, the Lions dominated en route to a 55-8 victory.
The Arlee Scarlets won the opening tip, but Eureka had its way all night after the first possession.
The Lions opened the game on a 17-0 run and didn't let up the rest of the first half with relentless defense, taking a 36-6 lead into the locker room.
"We've been stressing the last few weeks of talking on defense," said Eureka head coach Ryan Holder. "We haven't been doing a good job of talking on defense, so it was good to see the girls do some talking and the energy was high all night, so I think that was the key for us, was our defense."
On the offensive side of the ball, Eureka was just as good with seniors Michael Shea and Kyla Bohne leading the way.
Shea finished the game with 13 points, while Bohne finished with a game-high 14. Ellie Durden also added 11 points for the Lions.
"It was fun," said Bohne. "I felt like I could have done a little better, I was a little clumsy at times but I think overall I had fun and played well."
In the second half, the Lions came out just as hungry, scoring 13 points and holding Arlee to just two.
"They're a great team," said Arlee head coach Missy Tiensvold. "They have four seniors, one junior so they're pretty tough. We're pretty young, just working on the little things and hoping they turn into the bigger things down the stretch."
While the Eureka defense was swarming all night, the Scarlets were also down two role players with Cheyenne Pablo and Halle Adams out.
"I have two girls on the bench right now that are upperclassmen that hopefully should contribute here in the future," said Tiensvold. "They're coming back in the next week or two, so it'll help develop our offense and they're a big part of our defense."
In the fourth quarter, the Eureka defense essentially ended with a cherry on top of the perfect night by allowing zero points.
Arlee will travel to Charlo for its next game on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Eureka will hit the road again to take on Stillwater Christian on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
