COLUMBIA — The Rock Bridge Bruins scored the first four points of the game and the last two points of the first half.
The Jefferson City Lady Jays tallied the other 22 in the opening two quarters Thursday night on their way to a 44-25 victory in a Central Missouri Activities Conference contest.
Hannah Nilges got Jefferson City on the board with a 3-pointer from the top of the key midway through the first quarter to cut Rock Bridge’s lead to 4-3.
Hannah Linthacum of the Lady Jays later hit 3-pointers on three straight possessions, the last with :20 remaining in the quarter to give Jefferson City a 12-4 advantage.
Jefferson City then scored the first 10 points of the second quarter to take a 22-4 lead. Rock Bridge got the final basket of the quarter as Jefferson City took a 22-6 lead into intermission.
Jefferson City led by as many as 25 points in the third quarter — that coming after a 3-pointer by Nilges gave the Lady Jays a 36-11 advantage with a little more than a minute left in the quarter.
Jefferson City led 36-17 going to the fourth quarter.
Nilges finished with a game-high 19 points. Linthacum added 17, including 13 in the first half, and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Sarah Linthacum had the other eight points for the Lady Jays. She also finished with nine rebounds.
The 25 points are the fewest scored in a game this season by Rock Bridge, which entered the contest averaging 55.8 points.
Jefferson City is ranked third in the latest Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Class 6 state poll, one spot ahead of Rock Bridge (14-4 overall, 3-1 CMAC).
Jefferson City (18-1, 4-0) is off until Saturday, Feb. 20, when it is scheduled to play at Maryville, the fourth-ranked team in Class 4.
In Thursday night’s JV game, Rock Bridge defeated Jefferson City 36-24. Leah Kolb scored nine points for Jefferson City.