From the beginning the game plan was obvious from the Lady Mountaineers in Mt. Vernon, force the ball inside time and again. And that was successful enough to give Mt. Vernon the 51-41 win over Aurora.

Mt. Vernon used runs of 5 and 7 in the first quarter, but four 3-pointers by the Lady Houns, by four different players, helped give Aurora a narrow 14-12 lead after one.

An 8-0 run for Mt. Vernon in the second stanza and the Lady Houn's cooling off from the floor, scoring just four second quarter points, helped the Lady Mountaineers build a 28-18 halftime lead.

Rachel Parker scored Aurora's first five points of the second half and Aurora cut the lead to as few as 5, but trailed 37-29 after three periods.

The fourth was back-and-forth, with Mt. Vernon finding easy baskets and the Lady Houn's having to work the clock for their points, as the Mountaineers won the quarter, 14-12, and the game 51-41.

Baylee Hilton led Aurora (8-13, 3-1) with 11 points, while Kendra Eden added 10. Parker had 9 and Lakin Waggoner 5 for Aurora.