The bi-district playoff round of girls’ basketball got underway Monday night as Madison and MacArthur faced off in a 5A first-round game at the Aldine Campbell Center.

District 20-5A runner-up Madison defeated MacArthur 61-32 to move on to the area round later this week against either Cy-Fair or Alief Taylor.

The question of whether there were nerves was answered in the first eight minutes of play.

The Marlins scored 20 points in the first quarter. At four minutes in, Madison led 7-2 and scored six more in the next 1:30. Porsche Landry hit a three with two minutes remaining and Tarneshia Burns ended it by sinking two more points for an 18-point lead.

Landry made another three to begin the second. MacArthur’s Shadara Hampton shot her third point of the night from the free throw line. LaTarsha McNeil sank a three point shot for Madison’s 30-3 lead.

With less than one minute left in the half, the Generals’ Darrylneisha Thomas stole Madison’s inbound ball and put two points on the board. Teammate Hampton followed in Thomas’ footsteps as she then stole an inbound ball for two more points and a 32-7 halftime lead.

“We talked about protecting the ball and rebounding and they did a good job of that,” Madison coach Anthony Fields said.

MacArthur more than tripled its score in the third. Hampton sank seven points early in the quarter. Madison’s Raquel Jones hit a three and teammate Megan Williams put the Marlins at 50 points. Madison continued to put points on the board and allowed MacArthur to score 10 more, but ultimately won 61-32.

“At the end they bobbled the ball a little but they took care of business,” said Fields.

The Marlins will play their second playoff game later this week and Hampton knows what his girls need to do in order to go deep into the postseason.

“We have to play smart, rebound and protect the ball,” Hampton said. “We’ll play the winner of the Cy-Fair and Alief Taylor game. It’s going to be a battle but we’re going to do our best.”

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