photo by: Kim North

Union Local’s Delaney Butler (30) and Monroe Central’s Maci Isaly (10) battle for a rebound Wednesday night during action inside ‘The Hangar’ in Morristown. The Jets won, 65-38.

MORRISTOWN – Not bad for a season-opener.

Debuting Union Local pulled away from visiting Monroe Central early in the second quarter Wednesday night en route to a convincing, 65-38, victory in girls’ basketball action inside ‘The Hangar’ on the Union Local campus.

“It was a good start against a good team,” veteran Union Local head coach Lou “Scooter” Tolzda said. “We had a good summer. We worked really hard, went to a couple of camps and played in a couple of different leagues. We worked them pretty well to get ready for this season..

“I know it’s a long season, but we’ll take 1-0,” Tolzda added. “The turkey will taste a lot better tomorrow.”

After a first quarter that saw the contest tied twice and the lead change hands four times, the Seminoles (2-1) took a 17-15 lead on a Jadyn Miller three-point basket, but the Jets went on a 17-5 run to end the half with a 32-22 lead.

Seniors Laken Vinskovich and Delaney Butler each scored six points to spark the run, with Butler nailing the second of her two treys just ahead of the halftime buzzer.

“Union Local is coming off an appearance in the regionals last year and they’ve got a lot of that team back,” veteran Monroe Central head coach Troy Baker said. “They were really physical tonight and we didn’t handle that physicality.

“Union Local is a really good team. They shot the ball well and we didn’t shoot it that great,” Baker added.

Monroe Central’s Miley Bommer scored 30 seconds into the third quarter, but that would be the lone points for the Seminoles in the period as Union Local extended its lead to 48-24 after three quarters.

Senior Alli Kellaway netted six of her 14 points in that 16-0 spurt to end the third frame. Classmate Myah Martin drilled a pair of triples.

Vinskovich led the Jets with 16 points. Ameera Saunders added a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Isaly had nine points, all in the first quarter, to pace the Seminoles. Miller added eight and Jacey English grabbed nine rebounds.

Union Local shot 56 percent (14-42) from the floor to an ice-cold 33 percent (14-42) for Monroe Central. The Jets collected one more rebound, 25-24, and had two less turnovers, 12-10.

EDISON 54, HARRISON CENTRAL 34

CADIZ — The Huskies fell at home on Wednesday to the Wildcats in a game where both teams’ offenses improved as the game wore on.

Harrison Central trailed 25-10 at halftime. The Huskies were led by Mikayla Pelegreen’s 10 points and six rebounds.

Abby Carpenter led Edison with 23 points. She exploded for 15 in the third quarter.