Poteet set the tone from the start of its 12-5A tilt with crosstown rival North Mesquite on Tuesday with its defense.
Employing full-court pressure, the Pirates forced 13 turnovers in the first quarter alone.
Yet at the end of the first quarter, Poteet’s lead was only 8-7.
For as good as the defense was in creating good opportunities, the Pirates were unable to fully capitalize on their chances.
That changed in the second quarter, and when the shots started to fall, the Stallions were unable to keep pace.
Starting midway through the second period, Poteet embarked on a 41-7 run to turn a tight game into a 60-29 victory at North Mesquite High School.
The Pirates remain undefeated in district play as they sit atop the standings with a 8-0 record. Though the Stallions slip to 5-3, they are still alone in third place in 12-5A and control their own destiny.
Poteet had 10 different players tally points in the game, but was looking for contributions from anywhere early on.
It took more than three minutes for either team to hit a field goal, and that came courtesy of a 3-pointer from Madison Spain, who not only led North Mesquite with 15 points, but added 13 rebounds and four blocks.
Kalin Bradley countered with a trey of her own for the Pirates to give them a lead they would not relinquish, but the Stallions were still within 8-7 after Noemi Valdez knocked down a short jumper to close out the quarter.
North Mesquite was still hanging tough at 14-11 after a layup by Cheyenne Edinbyrd midway through the second, but the floodgates were about to open.
Gabrielle Bradley converted a layup and hit a pair of free throws and Trinity Henderson went coast to coast for a bucket to push the lead to nine.
Poteet closed the half with a flourish, scoring eight points in the final 90 seconds, as Kya Richardson knocked down a 3-pointer, Serena Anukem hit a runner in the lane and Khari Nelson converted a putback at the buzzer and it was suddenly 28-13 heading into the break.
The Pirates picked up where they left off coming out of the locker room, with Richardson knocking down a trey.
Poteet then attacked the basket, with Bradley, Taneah Jones, Richardson, Anukem, Bradley and Nelson all scoring near the rim.
Destiny Ehiogu drained a 3-pointer and Bradley added a basket to give them a 55-18 lead at the end of three quarters.
To North Mesquite’s credit, it never stopped battling, and outscored the Pirates 11-5 in the fourth, but by that time, the Pirates were already thinking about their showdown on Friday with second-place West Mesquite.
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