MEXICO - Fulton senior guard Sloane Totta produced a game-high 22 points Tuesday night as the Lady Hornets kicked off their season by throttling the North Central Missouri Conference rival Mexico Lady Bulldogs 52-36.
Fulton bolted out to a 16-6 edge after one quarter and took a 30-18 advantage into halftime. The Lady Hornets then outscored Mexico 14-9 in the third quarter to extend their lead to 44-27.
"We've been talking about for the last three weeks in practice what it would be like to see a school like Mexico in the first game," Fulton head coach TJ Quick said. "It's a tough place to play and they have great fans, so it was important for us to get out to a fast start.
"From the tip, we took the crowd out of it; it was pretty quiet in there. That's what you need to do when you're away from home."
Totta - who recently signed to play at NCAA Division II Truman State University in Kirksville - also handed out four assists and came up with five steals. Junior guard Dionne Vaughn tallied nine points for the Lady Hornets, while senior forward NaShayla Brandt responded with seven points and a team-high nine rebounds.
"We got everybody touches, inside and out," Quick said. "When we had open shots, we knocked them down."
Adria Costley topped Mexico with 15 points.
Fulton bowed in the junior varsity game 35-18. Sophomore guard LaShone Hempfield provided a team-high eight points and six rebounds.
The Lady Hornets will be seeking a second straight title as the top seed at next week's Montgomery County Invitational Tournament. Fulton meets No. 8 Wellsville in first-round play at 7 p.m. Monday in the middle-school gym.
"We're a veteran team now," Quick said. "We've been here before and we knew coming in what this (season) was going to look like."