Shorecrest started and finished the first half with big runs to topple the Oak Harbor High School girls basketball team 68-38 in Shoreline Wednesday, Jan. 11.

The second-place Scots (7-1, 10-2) opened the contest by sprinting to a 15-2 lead. Oak Harbor bounced back and hung around, trailing only 26-16 midway through the second period. From there Shorecrest bolted into halftime with a 17-4 run and led at the break 43-20.

The Scots upped the margin to 59-31 after three quarters.

Both teams attempted 53 shots, but the winners connected on 23 (43 percent) while the Wildcats hit 15 (28 percent).

Shorecrest also held a big scoring edge at the foul line, sinking 18 of 24 to Oak Harbor’s six of nine.

The Scots won the rebounding battle 39-28.

On a positive note, Oak Harbor broke a trend of poor ball handling by committing only 19 turnovers, just two more than the Scots. The Wildcats also had a season-high nine assists.

Coach Trisha Clayville said, “We are cutting down on turnovers and there was about a 10-minute section of the game where we played our best basketball of the year.”

Oak Harbor was guided by Annie Leete’s 14 points and three assists. Kelsey Rankin collected nine points and five rebounds, Ciera Wiser recorded four points and seven rebounds and Marissa Lewis had three points and three assists.

Dominique Jackson had four points, and Lia Pantoleon and Tatiana Cumming two each.

Oak Harbor (1-8, 2-11) hosts Lynnwood (7-2, 9-3) Tuesday, Jan. 17, at 7:15 p.m.