After one quarter of play on Tuesday night, the Guyer Lady Wildcats’ rust coming off the holiday break was evident.

From the second quarter on, Guyer shot the ball well and was able to pull away for a 50-30 win over Denison at Wildcat Gymnasium for its first district win of the season.

The Lady Wildcats (6-15, 1-2) were able to manage just eight points in the first quarter to Denison’s seven before going on to shoot 54 percent from the floor for the game, and 50 percent from beyond the 3-point line.

“It’s hard to lose a game [when you shoot that well],” said Guyer head coach Charla Valenzuela. “You shouldn’t lose.”

The Lady Wildcats scored 15 points in the second quarter and again in the fourth while putting up 13 in the third, and held Denison (8-14, 0-4) to single digits in each quarter.

Leah Russell led Guyer with 19 points and also had three steals that led to fast break buckets. She was 8-of-13 from the field and had a 2-for-5 night from 3-point range.

The senior said the team calmed down after the first quarter, which led to better offensive efficiency.

“I don’t know what it was [in the first quarter],” Russell said. “But I know we came out in the second quarter and picked it up a lot. I think a lot of it had to do with being more patient on offense instead of just going down and throwing up the first or second shot. We actually started running through the offense.”

Valenzuela said Russell’s addition to the squad this year (as a transfer from Lake Dallas) has been huge for the team, which has its first seniors this season.

“It’s nice to have seniors like her and Hannah [Ingram] that you can depend on to play games like that,” Valenzuela said. “She’s [Russell] so effective from the floor. She has good hands. She really does. She just has a knack for the ball.”

Jocelyn Cook and Alyssa Keim each added nine points for Guyer, and Cook had a good night from beyond the arc, shooting 3-for-5.

The win was a big one for Guyer aside from just the fact that it was its first district win. Denison came in winless in district play also, and after the loss is basically out of contention for a playoff spot for all intents and purposes, the same position Guyer might’ve been in with a loss.

Valenzuela said she didn’t stress that fact to her players, but did tell them the Lady Yellow Jackets were a team they had to beat.

“If we want to be a playoff team, this [Denison] is a team we need to beat twice,” she said. “We needed to take care of them at home so when we go there [Jan. 25] they’ll be halfway scared of us too. That gives us an advantage, beating them by 20.

“Not to say we don’t have to come out and play, but that gives you a nice advantage when you beat a team by that much.”

What pleased Valenzuela most was the fact that her team finished a game and played its most complete game of the year.

When the Lady Wildcats beat Burkburnett at home on Dec. 14, Guyer took a big lead into the fourth quarter before squandering it and winning by a much more narrow margin than Valenzuela would have liked. Tuesday night proved to be different.

Guyer took a 13-point lead into the fourth and expanded it.

“I told the girls this was one of the first games we’d played a complete game for all four quarters in,” she said. “We finished the game just like we started it — strong.”

ADAM BOEDEKER can be reached at 940-566-6872. His e-mail address is aboedeker@dentonrc.com .

Guyer 50, Denison 30

Denison (8-14, 0-4) — Angela Haney 6, Clarissa Moore 12, Jamie Brassfield 2, Tanka Dade 4, Ashley Morris 6.

Guyer (6-15, 1-2) — Jocelyn Cook 9, Olivia Roberts 1, Hannah Ingram 5, Leah Russell 19, Carrie Johnson 5, Alyssa Keim 8, Ashley Manuel 3.