STAFF PHOTO BY STEPHANIE KENIGSBERG Go, Katelin, go! Port Aransas High School Lady Marlins forward Katelin Dupnik fires off a shot during a game against Pettus Jan. 8. The Lady Marlins started District 31- 1A competition with a bang on Friday, Jan. 8, dealing the Pettus Eagles a 52-26 defeat on the Pettus court.

The Port Aransas girls started off strong, taking a 14-9 lead by the end of the first quarter and going into the locker room at halftime with a 25-14 advantage. They continued to hold the Lady Eagles to single-digit scores in the succeeding two quarters for the resounding win.

“Our press really got us started. We got some quick steals and were able to score to get an early lead,” said coach Stephanie Cowen.

However, Cowen said, “Offensively, we seemed to be rushing things. We didn’t take care of the ball as well as we should. We know we can’t continue to turn it over in our district. It hasn’t been a problem, but it was (at Pettus).”

Karelin Dupnik and Rachael Phillips led the scoring with 19 and 10 points, respectively. Tarryn Murray put in 8, Kalani Balcom hit for 5 and Reba Armanovs scored 4. Kelsey Ortiz, Chelsea Perez and Abby Kenigsberg each contributed 2 points.

The win brings the Lady Marlins to a 19-3 record overall and a 1-0 record in district play.

“I was pleased with how hard we played,” Cowen said. “Even when we had a large lead, we were still going for loose balls and being aggressive.”

There was no junior varsity game because of the JV Marlins Classic on Saturday.

The Lady marlins will see district action again tomorrow, Friday, Jan. 15, when they go against the Yorktown Kittycats at Yorktown.