BLOOMFIELD – The third quarter was the charm.

After a somewhat sloppy first half of play, the Davis County girls basketball team turned a tight game into a rout Monday night, as the Mustangs outscored Moulton-Udell 25-4 in the third quarter of play on the way to a 54-35 non-conference win over the Eagles.

It was the opening contest of the season for both teams, and the first career head coaching win for new Davis County coach Dave Mason, who claimed he didn’t give any rousing, inspirational speeches at halftime.

“I just told them that they needed to get back to playing defense with their feet,” said Mason. “They were also giving us some trouble with their pressure defense, and we made a couple adjustments to that. We drew it up and the kids did it.”

Whatever adjustments Mason made surely worked, as Davis County started the second half with a 15-2 run and stretched an insubstantial seven-point lead into as many as 31 points before it was time to clear the benches and get some on-court experience for the subs.

“They came out and hit us in the third quarter and we just didn’t hit back,” said Moulton-Udell coach Jason Ogden. “Our kids got a little frustrated, we don’t have a whole lot of experience.”

A 3-point basket by senior Kaylee Hougland – the only trey of the game – got things started in the third quarter for the Mustang offense. After that, Davis County was able to work inside and outside, as senior Colbi Lynch and junior Krista Gibson did the damage in the paint while senior Sarah Lindemulder worked the perimeter. Seniors Josie Rushman and Brittany Mincks both worked for baskets in the decisive third stanza, as did junior Jackie Kincart.

“We have a lot of work to do,” said Mason. “We expected a low-scoring game, and I was actually kind of surprised with the points we were able to put up.”

Junior Mackenzie Clark and freshman Madison Probasco both had solid efforts in the contest for Moulton-Udell, as Clark finished with 12 points – 10 of those coming in the second half – while Probasco added eight. The Eagle effort wasn’t enough to overcome the big Mustang third quarter, however.

Gibson finished with a game-high 13 points to lead Davis County, while Lynch added 10, Lindemulder hit eight and Hougland scored seven.

“We just need to regroup,” said Ogden. “We aren’t big, but we’re quick. We need to find ways to use our speed and just find the right combinations of players for the right situations.”

Both teams will get into conference play with their next contests. Moulton-Udell will host Bluegrass Conference rival Seymour next Tuesday while the Mustangs will host Eddyville-Blakesburg in a South Central Conference tilt on Thursday, Dec. 4.

Davis County 54, Moulton-Udell 35

M-U 6 8 4 17 — 35

D.C. 6 15 25 8 — 54