CANTON -- It was an unusual beginning to the game for the Canton Eaglettes.

Canton coach Brian Medeiros was clear after the game that he wasn't worried in the slightest. Although his team was struggling offensively, he liked what he saw from the defense.

Eventually, the offense caught up as Canton pulled away to win, 51-33 on Tuesday.

“We’re always more concerned with the defense than anything that happens (offensively)," Medeiros said. "We’re going to defend every possession. We got hot in the second quarter and that’s the difference in the game was those 3s they made in the second quarter. But we’re always going to be more concerned with defense.”

The No. 8 Eaglettes (26-1, 4-0 District 14-4A) led just 11-8 after the first quarter. Typically deadly from long range, Canton failed to make a 3-pointer in the opening quarter. It made up for it with four in the second, including two from Ashley Wood.

The Eaglettes ended the half on a 16-2 run that including three consecutive 3-pointers. They entered halftime with a 29-13 lead and didn't look back from there.

Olvia Norrell led Canton with 20 points while Kayden Prox and Hannah Manry each had four assists. Kyndall Nilius added six points off the bench.

Skylar Savage led the Lady Vandals with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Canton now sits atop District 14-4A and Van drops to 3-1 and second place. The Eaglettes next have a game against Athens at 5 p.m. Friday in Athens.

The Lady Vandals will look to get back on track against Brownboro at 6 p.m. next Tuesday on the road.

“We’re ahead right now, but we’ve still got to go to Van the second round," Medeiros said. "We’ve got to go to Brownsboro the second round. We’ve got to go to Athens on Friday. There’s still some tough tests ahead of us.”

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