STEUBENVILLE — A fast start led to another big win for the Catholic Central girls’ basketball team.

Catholic Central built a 16-point advantage against Brooke at the end of the first quarter, and the Crusaders rolled to a 62-42 victory in a varsity-only game Wednesday night inside the Mickey Barber Gymnasium.

“Our starters were in a good groove today,” Catholic Central (4-2) head coach Rocky Bragg said. “Mara Delaney got off to a good start. She hit some good shots. She was in a good rhythm. She had a big first quarter.

“Tonight, we had the opportunity to give some of our girls who don’t get a chance to play a lot some minutes to develop, and we took advantage of that.

“We got good leadership again tonight. Natalie Cherepko plays at a fast pace, and she demands her teammates keep up with her. Mary Rohde played well down low. She did a good job on the boards. Monica Bolster also played well under the basket.”

Delaney delivered 18 of her team’s 27 points in the first quarter as the girls from Jefferson County took a 27-11 into the second quarter. The Blue-and-Gold extended its advantage to 42-17 at halftime, and the hosts took a 55-25 lead into the fourth. The girls from Brooke County outscored the victors, 17-7, in the fourth to account for the final score.

“We’re young,” Brooke (0-3) head coach Amy Serevicz said. “We have one senior and couple of juniors. We are sophomore and freshmen heavy. Them being able to play helps us build. We are in a building year again. We are scoring more points than we did last year. That’s a good thing. We are a work in progress.”

Delaney delivered a game-high 22 points to lead the way offensively for the girls in white, while Aurie Hoover recorded 12.

“They run a 1-2-2, and we don’t see that a lot,” Serevicz said. “We did OK. The story of our lives in turnovers. We probably had 40 turnovers. You are not going to win when you have that many turnovers.”

Rilyn Bowman tallied a team-high 14 points to lead the way for the Bruins, while Marionna Dipaolo produced 11.

“This was my first time seeing Brooke since my daughter played,” Bragg said. “We were not sure what to expect. They came out and sat in the 2-3, and we worked on our 2-3 offense. We had the opportunity to hit some shots early from the outside.

“We did not go inside enough. I would have liked to have seen us go inside more. They had the Bowman girl inside. She did a good job. She’s a big presence inside.

“Overall, I thought we played a really good game. We had a chance to give some minutes to some kids who don’t get a chance to play a lot of minutes. I think that will be beneficial in the future.”

The Bruins had a 5-4 advantage in 3-pointers.

“Saturday at Harrison Central was tough,” Bragg said. “We came back and got a big win against Oak Glen, and we got another big win against Brooke. They are both big schools. Those are worth a lot of OVAC points. That will be helpful for us down the stretch.”

Brooke is scheduled to play Oak Glen in a varsity-only game at noon Saturday on the road.

Catholic Central is slated to play Jefferson County foe Edison Monday night at home. The Crusaders defeated the Wildcats, 55-29, Dec. 3 on the road.

“We play Edison Monday,” Bragg said. “That is going to be a tough game. They are very physical. They’re fast. It is going to be a good test.”

Catholic Central 62, Brooke 42

Brooke 11 6 8 17 – 42

Catholic Central 27 15 13 7 – 62

BROOKE (0-3): Kaufmann 0 0-0 0, Alcantara 0 0-0 0, McLaughlin 1 1-2 4, Corso 1 0-0 2, Montelione 0 0-0 0, Costlow 2 2-4 6, Valero 1 0-0 3, Disher 0 0-0 0, Bolen 1 0-0 2, Dipaolo 4 0-0 11, Bowman 7 0-0 14. TOTALS: 17 3-6 42.

CATHOLIC CENTRAL (4-2): Cherepko 0 0-0 0, Rohde 1 0-0 2, Balbin 0 0-0 0, Rigaud 1 0-2 2, Fink 0 0-2 0, Hoover 3 6-8 12, Delaney 9 3-4 22, Bolster 2 3-6 7, Dankert 3 0-0 7, Latham 1 0-0 2, Beaulieu 0 0-0 0, Garcia 3 0-0 8. TOTALS: 23 12-22 62.

3-POINTERS: Brooke 5 (Dipaolo 3, McLaughlin, Valero); Catholic Central 4 (Garcia 2, Delaney, Dankert)