MONTOURSVILLE - Molly Loftus saw to it that Lourdes Regional broke out of the gate fast.
The remainder of the Red Raiders took care of things the rest of the way.
Staking her claim outside the 3-point arc on the left offensive wing, Loftus knocked down nothing-but-net 3-pointers on the Lourdes' first three possessions providing an early lead that ultimately led to a 64-30 Distrct 4 Class A opening-round romp over Mansfield of the Northern Tier League.
Loftus finished with a modest 14 points - all in the first half - but that early lead was one the
Raiders never relinquished in cruising to a semifinal matchup with Muncy next week. ... Date, site and time to be determined during a District 4 meeting Sunday.
"You're always concerned when you haven't played for two weeks," Lourdes coach Mike Klembara said. "So that start was very important.
"And what she (Loftus) did early, that opened some things up for us inside."
What also provided a big lift for the Raiders was the play of junior Christina Perles, who despite nursing a ligament injury to her left thumb and only being cleared to play on Wednesday of this week, scored a team-high 18 points.
"Perles did not practice for two weeks," Klembara said. "She didn't get the OK until Wednesday."
Sarah Getchey, scoring nine of her 11 in the first half, gave Lourdes a third player in double figures.
Much of the Raiders offense came as a direct result of a pressure defense that forced the Tigers into far too many turnovers for their own good. A good but more came from efficient half-court sets that relied on good ball movement to create easy opportunities.
"I thought we moved the ball really well," Klembara said. "And of course, Molly (Loftus) hit those big shots."
At the mid-point of the first quarter, the Raiders led 13-4, but a six-point run over the final 3 minutes, 47 seconds of the first quarter by Mansfield cut that to 13-10.
To open the second, Loftus nailed her fourth 3-pointer starting a 12-0 Lourdes run that effectively put the game out of reach early.
Mansfield was led by Emily James, who scored a game-high 19 points, including three field goals from behind the arc.
No other Mansfield player scored more than five.
Game Summary
LOURDES (64) - Loftus 5 0-0 14, Komara 3 0-0 6, Perles 5 8-10 18, Getchey 5 0-0 11, O'Donnell 0 0-0 0, Schultz 4 0-0 8, Long 0 0-0 0, Rompolski 0 0-0 0, Wheary 0 0-0 0, Trell 0 0-1 0, Singh 2 0-2 5, Leach 1 0-0 2, Fink 0 0-0 0, DeLong 0 0-0 0, Pennypacker 0 0-0 0, Koshinski 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 8-13 64.
MANSFIELD (30) - James 7 2-2 19, Madigan 0 0-0 0, Bolt 0 0-0 0, Dempsey 0 0-0 0, Wood 2 1-2 5, Hillson 2 1-1 5, Powlison 0 0-0 0, Lichty 0 0-0 0, York 0 0-0 0, Farrer 0 1-2 1, Dake 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 5-7 30.
Lourdes 13 20 21 10 - 64
Mansfield 10 6 10 4 - 30
3-point FGs: Loftus 4, Getchey, Singh, James 3.