UP AND OVER — Big Red’s Bailee Beall attempts a shot over Toronto’s Tatem Derrington’s attempt to block during Monday’s game. - Andrew Grimm

TORONTO — The Big Red girls basketball team showed off its athleticism against Toronto.

The Red Knights hit a 3-pointer to open the scoring, however, Big Red tallied the next 28 and never looked back en route to a 59-17 victory via mercy rule in a varsity-only game Monday night inside the George J. Kunzler Memorial Gymnasium.

“The girls were firing on all cylinders,” Big Red (12-5) head coach Angie Forte said. “They did a great job of getting out in transition. They did a great job with their pressure defense leading to steals and points out in transition.”

Big Red led 20-3 at the end of the first quarter.

“They are very athletic,” Toronto (4-13) head coach Rusty Hodgkiss said. “I think one thing that gets overlooked due to their athleticism is just how skilled they are. They move the ball fantastic. They shot the ball really well. They handle the ball well. They see the floor well. They are very athletic, but they are good fundamentally.”

Eleven players played in the game for the visitors — three of which produced double digits in points. Individually, Nyla McShan netted a game-high 14 points, while Sadie Edwards and Bailee Beall each collected 10.

Michelle Anderson and J.J. Rebich each recorded six points for the hosts from the Gem City.

Big Red subbed out its starters in the first half, and the visitors played their younger players the entire second half.

“It was exciting,” Forte said. “At one point, we had five freshmen on the floor. It was exciting to see them play together and run up and down the floor.”

The visitors extended their advantage to 45-10 at halftime.

Big Red doubled up Toronto, 14-7, in the second half.

The victory enabled Big Red to sweep the season series from its Jefferson County foes. Big Red defeated Toronto, 65-27, in the season-opening game for both teams Nov. 18 inside the Crimson Center.

“When we played down there, we were probably nine or 10 deep in that first game,” Hodgkiss said. “That was probably one of the better games we played, honestly that first time down there.

“We are down two ball-handlers right now. Their pressure defense got to us. They were able to speed us up mentally.

“They made us do things fast that we needed to do slow, and they made us do things slow that we needed to do fast. They got us out of any semblance of what we wanted to do.”

Big Red led 53-15 entering the fourth.

“They have a lot of injuries,” Forte said. “They work hard. We have played them two times, and both times they played hard. They did not quit. They keep playing.”

The hosts kept battling no matter the score.

“You cannot look effort as the reason the score was what it was,” Hodgkiss said. “Our girls fight until the end. We’re young, and so are they.”

Both teams are scheduled to return to the court Thursday.

The game was the final one for both teams prior to the cutoff to qualify for the annual OVAC Tournament. The top four in each class qualify for the tournament.

Big Red entered Monday in sixth place in Class 5A, while Toronto was in eighth place in Class 2A.

Big Red is slated to play Weir on Ron “Fritz” Williams Court inside the Carl Hamill Fieldhouse. Meanwhile, Toronto is set to play Bridgeport at home in a varsity-only game.

Big Red 59, Toronto 17

Big Red 20 25 8 6 – 59

Toronto 3 7 5 2 – 17

BIG RED (12-5): Perdue 1 0-2 2, Warner 1 0-0 2, Criss 2 1-2 7, Cooper 1 0-0 2, Smarrella 2 0-0 4, Edwards 5 0-0 10, Matteson 2 0-0 4, McShan 7 0-0 14, Beall 4 0-0 10, Lyons 2 0-0 4, Meyer 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 27 1-4 59.

TORONTO (4-13): Derrington 0 0-0 0, L. Anderson 0 3-4 3, C. Anderson 0 1-2 1, M. Anderson 3 0-0 6, Rebich 2 0-0 6, Crago 0 0-0 0, Owings 0 0-0 0, Thomas 0 1-2 1, Timko 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 5 5-18 17.

3-POINTERS: Big Red 4 (Criss 2, Beall 2); Toronto 2 (Rebich 2)