HARRIS — The Bark River-Harris girls dashed out of the gates quickly here Saturday night in a 58-31 basketball victory over the Gwinn Modeltowners.

BR-H led 19-0 after the first quarter of this non-conference outing, then cruised from there.

“We haven’t done that in a while,” said BR-H coach Matt Richer. “Our communication and defense was real good, and we shot the ball well. Our defense turned into offense.”

Senior Alaska Peterson finished the opening frame with a layup on a pass from sophomore Mckenzie Hoffmeyer.

A layup by junior guard Lena Pleaugh got the Modeltowners on the board with six minutes, 24 seconds left in the second quarter.

Senior forward Jordana Hardy added a layup and Pleaugh scored on a putback, trimming Gwinn’s deficit to 19-6 with five minutes remaining in the second.

The Broncos (11-6) answered with a 16-3 run, gaining a 35-9 halftime advantage on a steal and buzzer-beating layup by Hoffmeyer.

“We told the girls they couldn’t relax,” said Richer. “We reminded the girls they came back and nearly beat Gladstone the other night (in Thursday’s 33-31 loss).”

In the third quarter, the Broncos led 45-18 on a lay-in by senior center Olivia Erickson with 3:11 remaining.

They ended the third with an insurmountable 47-24 advantage.

“Three games in a week is a lot to ask of our girls,” said Gwinn coach Justin Maki. “I thought mentally and physically they were tired. At least they played hard. Every game is like that. They don’t quit. We were down 23-5 at halftime at Gladstone and made a big comeback in the second half.”

The Modeltowners (1-16) shaved their deficit to 51-31 on an eight-foot jumper by Pleaugh with 3:56 remaining. The Broncos, however, didn’t allow them to get any closer.

“At halftime, we told the girls to put up their best fight,” said Maki. “They kept battling, and that’s all we can ask for. I’m proud of them for that.”

BR-H senior guard Cara Zawacki, who scored the first eight points, finished with 14. Hoffmeyer added 11. Pleaugh led Gwinn with 14, and Hardy had 10.

Gwinn lost junior Grace Anderson to a possible broken ankle just 11 seconds into the game.

“That was very unfortunate,” said Richer. “Our defensive game plan was to focus on her. After she went down, we starting focusing on number 24 (Pleaugh). They went to a zone, and we told the girls they didn’t need to be in a hurry. We don’t see a zone very often. We tried to work on our half-court offense.”

The Broncos committed just nine turnovers, and the Modeltowners had 23.

BR-H, which also won the jayvee game 40-24, hosted North Central Monday night. They resume at Forest Park Thursday. Gwinn visits Iron Mountain tonight.

Gwinn 0 9 15 7 — 31

BR-Harris 19 16 12 13 — 58

Gwinn — LaCount 3, Hardy 10, Pleaugh 14, Nix 4. FT: 6-17; F: 12; Fouled out: None; 3-point field goal: LaCount.

Bark River-Harris — Fredrick 5, Bower 4, Peterson 2, LeBoeuf 4, Zawacki 14, Zawada 7, T. Ives 4, Hoffmeyer 11, Erickson 6, M. Ives 1. FT: 9-17; F: 19; Fouled out: Peterson; 3-point field goal: Zawacki.