TORONTO — The Toronto girls’ basketball team led Wellsville from start to finish.

Toronto tallied the first 20 points of the game en route to a 58-16 victory against the Tigers via mercy rule in a varsity-only game on Senior Night Wednesday night inside the George J. Kunzler Memorial Gymnasium.

“I thought we played really well overall,” Toronto (7-11) head coach Rusty Hodgkiss said. “We had a really nice start again. Our period of not scoring was not as long as last night or as in previous nights.”

The Knights led 18-0 at the end of the first quarter before extending their advantage out to 36-11 at halftime. The girls from the Gem City outscored the visitors, 12-0, in the third to increase their advantage to 48-11 entering the fourth. The girls in white led by as many as 44 in the fourth.

“We didn’t really do anything different in the third quarter tonight after last night,” Hodgkiss said. “We made a little switch on our substitutions. Coach (Tatum) Derrington was in charge of that, and she did a nice job. We were able to rotate players and keep them fresh.”

The Red-and-White tallied the first 16 points of the second half.

Jayna Reeves led the way offensively for the hosts with a game-high 21 points, while Olivia Owings and Josey Dickinson each collected 12.

“I could not be more proud of these girls,” Hodgkiss said. “They play with grit and energy — mostly positive energy. I cannot say enough of how proud I am of them.”

MacKenzie Bosco led the way for the girls in black with a team-high 10 points.

The win enabled the Red Knights to sweep the season series from the Tigers (0-16). Toronto defeated Wellsville, 55-31, Dec. 17 on the road.

“They played a few different defenses tonight than they did up there, and we did, too,” Hodgkiss said. “We have been working really hard on our man defense. We were able to create some turnovers about the free-throw line, and we were able to get some runouts.”

Owings — Toronto’s lone senior — was honored prior to the game.

“Olivia has worked harder than any kid I have had in 10 years here,” Hodgkiss said. “She goes to everything in the summer. She shoots in the spring. She goes to the open gyms in the fall. She works at home on her own. It was nice to see her score 12 points tonight. It was nice to see her in double figures. She probably had a double-double tonight.

Her basket with 3:12 left in the third gave her team a 46-11 lead bringing the running clock into play.

“She hasn’t acted as if it is tough being the only senior,” Hodgkiss said. “She’s stepped right in. She leads drills. She is our captain every game. She’s not very vocal at all. She is quiet in the locker room. She does what we want to do.”

Wellsville is scheduled to play Valley Christian in a varsity-only game tonight at home. The Eagles defeated the Tigers, 52-13, Dec. 15 at home.

Toronto is slated to play St. Clairsville in a varsity-only game at 6 p.m. Monday down on John Jenkins Court. The Red Devils defeated the Red Knights, 49-39, Jan. 12 on the road.

“We did not play well against them up here,” Hodgkiss said. “As the season has progressed, we have gotten a lot better. It is the same as last year. We got a lot better as the season went on last year. I challenged the kids to not just get better as the season goes on. We can be content winning seven, eight or nine games, or we can commit to being good.”

Toronto 58, Wellsville 16

Wellsville 00 11 00 5 – 16

Toronto 18 18 12 10 – 58

WELLSVILLE (0-16): Flygare 0 0-0 0, Momon 1 0-0 2, Bebout 0 0-0 0, Martin 1 0-0 2, Cataldo 1 0-0 2, Bosco 4 2-7 10. TOTALS: 7 2-7 16.

TORONTO (7-11): Sapp 2 2-3 6, Piatt 2 0-0 5, Reeves 5 9-11 21, Bodnar 1 0-2 0, Owings 6 0-0 12, Dickinson 6 0-0 12. TOTALS: 22 11-16 58.

3-POINTERS: Wellsville (None); Toronto 3 (Reeves 2, Piatt)