Highlands jumped all over Bellevue scoring 38 points in the first quarter on the way to a 71-37 victory in the 36th District championship game on Thursday.
Marissa Green dominated the paint scoring 24 points to lead the Bluebirds to their ninth district title in 10 years. Saylor Macke and Kaylee Mills scored 12 points each. Mills made four 3-pointers in the first quarter.
“I feel like (Thursday) was one of our better games and we really communicated,” Mills said. “We’ve been working on defense in practice running 5-on-4 (drills) and it really showed.”
Highlands (21-8) recorded 15 steals in the win. Amaya Barton and Avery Barber led the Bluebirds with three thefts each.
Jayda Dowell scored 10 points to lead Bellevue (22-9) and Sydni Massey scored nine.
“We stress that it’s the postseason and anything can happen. We have to be ready no matter who our opponent is,” Highlands head coach Jaime Walz-Richey said. “Bellevue is really good team. We knew they were going to come out ready for us, but we had to throw the first punch, get some points on the scoreboard and we did that.”
Both teams advance to the 9th Region Tournament that starts Sunday at Truist Arena in Highland Heights. Bellevue is in it for the first time since 2010.