Coach Mike Lang was hoping his Trinity Lutheran girls basketball team could get off to a good start against sectional rival West Washington on Thursday night in the Bollinger Athletic Complex.

The Cougars did exactly that by running to an 18-6 advantage after eight minutes on the way to a 56-31 win.

“We definitely wanted to set the tone right from the get-go, and I think the girls got off to a good start,” he said. “They jumped on them pretty early.”

Sydney Jaynes started out hot by making her first six shots from the floor, and her sixth basket put the Cougars on top 18-4.

Jaynes finished with a season-high 30 points. That included going 14-for-22 from the floor, including one 3-pointer.

“She’s seeing the floor. She’s getting her teammates involved,” Lang said. “She had a good first half scoring-wise and also a handful of assists in there. She’s a good team player, and she’s always looking for her teammates to score, as well.”

While the Cougars were shooting at a 51.7 clip from the floor (15 of 29) in the first half, they also were playing well at the defensive end as the Senators had six turnovers early. That was a factor in them falling behind 14-2 after 6 minutes.

West Washington made 14 turnovers in the first half and 21 for the game, and Lang said he liked Trinity’s defensive results.

“They struggled handling the pressure,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of size, and we tried to use our length to create turnovers. They were going to try and slow us down, and we wanted our defense to create our offense.”

Jaynes stayed hot in the second period with three more baskets, including her 3-pointer. Guard Bailey Tabeling added five points in that quarter to help the Cougars to a 35-13 lead at the half.

After the Senators scored the first two points of the third period, Jaynes scored two quick baskets and guard Kailene Cockerham nailed a 3-pointer for a 42-15 lead.

Cockerham also hit a jumper in the lane and another 3-pointer in the period as Trinity held a 49-27 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Cockerham finished with 12 points, and Jaynes led the Cougars with 10 rebounds.

Madison Brown was high scorer for the Senators (4-9) with 10 points.

Trinity finished with 25-for-56 shooting from the floor and had 28 rebounds while making 11 turnovers.

The Senators shot 13-for-41 from the floor and ended up with 24 turnovers

The Cougars (15-3) were scheduled to play Edinburgh next Tuesday, but that game has been called off because Edinburgh is under quarantine.

Box score

At Seymour

Trinity Lutheran 56, West Washington 31

West Washington;6;7;14;4;—;31

Trinity Lutheran;18;17;14;7;—;56

Trinity Lutheran (15-3): Sydney Jaynes 14 1-1 30, Kailene Cockerham 5 0-0 12, Bailey Tabeling 3 0-0 7,  Liza Froedge 2 0-0 4, Genesis Munoz  0 1-2 1, Emma Schepman 1 0-0 2, Hannah Durham 0 0-0 0, Morgan Brewer 0 0-0 0, Kayla Goecker 0 0-0 0, Katelyn Schepman 0 0-0 0. Totals: 25 2-3 56.

West Washington (4-9): Alandra Johnson 1 1-4 3, Riley Hall 2 0-0 4, Lexi Griffitts 3 1-1 7, Mackenzie Brown 3 0-4 7, Madison Brown 4 1-2 10. Totals: 13 4-12 31.

3-point goals: TL (Cockerham 2, Jaynes, Tabeling), WW (Madison Brown, Makenzie Brown)

Rebounds: TL 28 (Jaynes 10, Tabeling 6), WW (Madison Brown 10)

Fouls: TL 10, WW 4

Turnovers: TL 11, WW 21

Junior varsity

Trinity Lutheran 28, West Washington 24 (2 OT)

Trinity Lutheran: Katelyn Schepman 9, Goecker 7, Brewer 6, Kathryn Whitmore 2, Emma Myers 4