EBEN — The Big Bay de Noc girls cleared their first post-season hurdle here Monday night in a 41-18 basketball triumph over Rapid River in a Division 4 district opener.

Big Bay (9-9) returns to the Superior Central gym Wednesday to face the host Cougars (12-7) at 7 p.m. Rapid River finished 0-20.

“This is the first district win for this group,” said Big Bay coach Bob Pederson. “This is a big deal for them. I think our defense was pretty darn good, and this was the best rebounding night we had. The girls did a pretty good job on the boards. We knew we were in for a tough game. We knew they were going to fight their hardest.”

The Black Bears took a 20-12 lead on a pair of free throws by junior Alix Bleau with 41.1 seconds left in the second quarter.

Big Bay then scored the first 10 points in the third frame, gaining a 30-12 cushion on a 10-foot set shot by sophomore Gracynn Durance, set up on a pass from Bleau.

The Rockets scored the next two buckets, trimming their deficit to 30-16 on a jump shot from inside the free throw circle by junior Megan Dausey late in the third.

Bleau added a running jumper from the lane for a 32-16 advantage with three seconds left in the third.

“We tried to be more aggressive in the third quarter,” said Rockets’ coach Scott Goodacre. “We tried to press and got some steals, only we weren’t rewarded.”

Big Bay added nine points to their advantage in the fourth on a pair of gifters by Bleau, making it 41-16 with two minutes, 25 seconds remaining.

“I thought we got a little shocked,” said Goodacre. “The girls said they thought they were rushed. We didn’t execute very well with anything we ran. It was a frustrating night and season, and I think the girls just got frustrated. Although, they never quit. We’ll go back to the drawing board. We’re going to try to schedule some clinics and do it before the end of the school year.”

The score was tied at five after Dausey sank a jumper from the boulevard midway through the opening frame.

Big Bay, however, led 10-7 after the first and extended its lead to 18-7 after sophomore Camryn Pederson split a pair of free throws with 3:06 left in the second.

Bleau led the Black Bears with 18 points, and Pederson added nine. Dausey had 10 for the Rockets.

Big Bay committed 21 turnovers, and Rapid River had 18.

“We count on Alix for her offense,” said coach Pederson. “She’s our go-to player for sure. Cam had a bad head cold. We weren’t sure she’d be able to play tonight. Our press break is usually better than that. We tried to dribble through it. We needed to pass the ball a little more.”

Rapid River 7 5 4 2 — 18

Big Bay 10 10 12 9 — 41

Rapid River — Nelson 3, Dausey 10, Snay 5. FT: 3-6; F: 19; Fouled out: Nelson, Snay; 3-point field goal: Snay.

Big Bay de Noc — Jones 3, Pederson 9, Bleau 18, Durrance 2, Morris 2, Massengill 7. FT: 12-18; F: 9; Fouled out: None.