BEAUMONT — Girls basketball games between Port Arthur Memorial and Beaumont Central are usually competitive, so the first quarter alone of Tuesday afternoon’s tilt might have taken many to surprise.

“They outplayed us,” Memorial coach Kevin Henry said. “They wanted it more than we did on both ends of the floor, especially on the defensive side.”

Central, with an all-guard lineup, kept Memorial off-balance on offense most of the game and established an up-tempo style from the opening tip, building a 21-3 lead through the first 8 minutes en route to a 79-43 win.

The result was stunning for a Memorial team (3-4) that came off a runner-up finish Saturday in the Aldine ISD tournament. But the Lady Titans also were dealing with a pair of injuries in their frontcourt to Autumn Jones and Teliah Joyce. Henry wasn’t sure about their status for the Lady Titans’ next game next Tuesday at Beaumont Ozen.

“That might have had something to do with it,” he said of Jones’ and Joyce’s absences. “Central just came out with more energy and executed.”

Memorial never led but was tied with Central once at 2-2 with 6:52 left in the first quarter. The Lady Titans did not make another field goal until Jakeira Ford’s jumper with 5:05 left in the second, by which time Central (6-1) still owned a 28-5 lead.

“When you settle for jumpers instead of attacking the basket, then the more aggressive team is going to win or get the calls,” Henry said. “They were aggressive on the offensive side and put us in some foul situations because we weren’t moving our feet on defense. We settled for jumpers, and they turn into transition baskets on the other side.”

The Lady Jaguars went into the locker room with a 41-9 halftime lead.

Four Lady Jaguars, led by Destiny Medlock’s 17 points, finished in double figures. Anastacia Mickens netted 15 points, Jaylan Anderson scored 14 and Tonjdreana Clifton had 12.

“I know the kind of kids that I have, I expected them to come out with the focus and intensity that they did,” Central coach Rolander Fontenot said. “They’ve been off for a week, so they were hungry.”

Ford scored 24 of her season-high 29 points in the second half, knocking down both of the Lady Titans’ three-balls in the fourth period.

“Defensively, we wanted to get a stop because we know Port Arthur Memorial is known for shooting threes,” Fontenot said. “We worked on man defense, and we came out in man, and I think that changed the intensity of the game.”