Justin St. Ours | Daily Press Rapid River’s Natalie Belanger blocks a shot by Superior Central’s Gloria Johnson (24) during the first round of the Division 4 district tournament Monday at Mid Peninsula.

ST. NICHOLAS — The Rapid River girls got the start they wanted here Monday night in a 64-29 conquest of Superior Central in a Division 4 district basketball opener.

Rapid River (6-14) returns to Mid Peninsula to face Munising (7-13) in the championship game Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Cougars finished 1-20.

The Rockets scored 13 points within the first 2 1/2 minutes and extended their lead to 16-0 on a 15-foot set shot by junior Quenna Spriks with 2:55 left in the opening frame.

“That was our plan coming in,” said Rockets’ coach Scott Goodacre. “We wanted to start fast. When we get our 2-2-1 (zone press) going, it creates some offense for us. This is huge for the girls, school and whole program. We hadn’t won a district since 2006. It means a lot for us to get into the district final.”

A 14-foot jump shot by sophomore guard Charlotte Charlebois got the Cougars on the board on their next possession.

The Rockets continued to extend their lead, which reached 36-6 with 3:24 left in the third quarter when junior guard Cecilia Pilon drove through the lane for a layup.

Rapid River led 39-12 at halftime and 51-18 late in the third following a 10-foot jumper by junior Shania Poore.

Junior center Natalie Belanger led the Rockets with 20 points. Senior guard Kristin Goodacre, who set up Belanger with several scoring chances, added 17 points. Pilon scored 14.

Charlebois finished with seven points and sophomore guard Emma Rutter had six for the Cougars.

“We’re a young team,” said Cougars’ coach Bobbi Ayotte. “We struggled with shooting all year. Charlotte played a good game. We also brought up some JV girls, and I thought they brought up the intensity.

“Our JVs went 7-3 in the (Skyline Central) conference this year. We have something to look forward to. The girls hung in there. They played and fought hard all year.”

Rapid River hit 27-of-59 field goals and committed 17 turnovers. The Cougars were 12-of-62 from the floor and had 23 miscues.

“We tried some different things,” said coach Goodacre. “We also wanted to work on a few more things, then we kind of let the kids do what they wanted in the end.”

Rapid River 20 19 12 13 — 64

Superior Central 4 8 8 9 — 29

Rapid River — Pilon 14, Q. Spriks 4, Snay 2, E. Goodacre 3, K. Goodacre 17, Poore 2, Belanger 20. FT: 9-13; F: 12; Fouled out: None; Technical fouls: Bench (2); 3-point field goal: E. Goodacre.

Superior Central — Charlebois 7, Rutter 6, Begovac 2, K. Augustyn 4, G. Johnson 2, E. Augustyn 2, Molag 4, Swick 2. FT: 5-19; F: 10; Fouled out: None.