Port Arthur Memorial coach Kevin Henry found his team’s first Achilles’ heel of the season — turnovers.

“We had 26 turnovers in the first half alone,” he said. “Most teams don’t have that in a game. Twenty-six turnovers is hard to overcome, not to mention the layups and missed opportunities when we had a chance to score.”

Houston Westside took advantage of Memorial’s misfortune and steadily increased its lead en route to a 73-42 victory Saturday in the girls basketball season opener for both teams.

What was a 12-2 first-quarter lead for Westside (1-0) ballooned into a 36-16 halftime advantage as Memorial (0-1) struggled to contain the hot-shooting Wolves.

“We just have to settle down,” Henry said. “I have players who came off the bench last year. The more games we play, the better we’ll get. Good thing we play these preseason games.”

Each Memorial player in the scorebook scored, with Julia Sion and Emily McElroy each netting six points to lead the team. Westside, though, had three double-digit scorers: Kayla Pilson and Jordon Lewis with 16 apiece and Yasmine Arogunjo with 10.

“I thought our energy was good,” Wolves coach Troy Gillespie said. “We looked a little out of control at times, but I can expect that the first game of the season. Coming on the road into a tough environment like this, I was proud of some of the composure my kids had. I was impressed with their energy and the consistency out of the energy.”

Both Memorial and Westside bowed out of the 6A playoff last season in the bi-district round. Henry said it’s usually a challenge each year the teams face off, and it happened to be decisive this time around.

The Titans won’t have another home game until Nov. 29 when it hosts former District 21-6A rival West Brook. They’ll visit another former district partner, Baytown Sterling, on Tuesday.