Staff Photo by Jake Olson: Martin County West girls basketball player Ida Rohman watches her 3-point attempt fly during the second half of Tuesday's contest against Cleveland at Martin County West High School. The Mavericks won 66-40, improving their record to 12-9 on the season.

SHERBURN – Bailey Larson held the ball over her head on the right wing, eyeing towards the hoop in hopes of seeing an open teammate. After a handful of seconds, Larson forced the ball towards Maddie Carlson on a baseline flex cut.

The pass deflected off Carlson’s hands with high velocity, bouncing up into the air before banking into the rim. Fans, players and coaches of the Martin County West girls’ basketball team couldn’t help but smile after seeing their team extend the lead to 52-30 over Cleveland with nine minutes left in the second half. It was just one of those games for head coach Cliff Anderson’s team.

“When things are going good, those kinds of things happen,” Anderson said.

The Mavericks used efficient work on both sides of the court to power a 66-40 win over Cleveland during Tuesday night’s contest at the Martin County West High School. MCW’s zone defense suffocated the Clippers into scoring under 20 second-half points while the offense remained consistent throughout the 36 minutes of gameplay.

Carlson led the Mavericks with 22 points and 12 rebounds. 3 3-pointers from Ida Rohman fueled her 14-point scoring performance, while Ivy Olson’s strong first half charged a 13-point scoring effort.

MCW set the tone defensively from the opening tip, rotating through multiple looks to keep Cleveland off balance. The Mavericks frequently shifted between 2-3 and 3-2 zone defenses, forcing the Clippers to adjust to varying pressures throughout the afternoon.

Three straight stops led to scoring opportunities on the other side of the court. MCW took advantage of crisp passing that led to an early 6-0 lead courtesy of consecutive Olson layups.

“If we communicate in our matchup defense, we are pretty good. But when we don’t communicate is when we struggle in our defense,” Anderson said. “But I thought tonight they did a good job of communicating as a team.”

Cleveland stopped an eight-point Maverick scoring run with a quick swing of their own at seven minutes to play in the first half. Harper Rutz was the catalyst in cutting the Clippers’ deficit to 22-15, knocking down an outside shot before turning an MCW turnover into two more points of her own on the other end.

This was the closest the score got the rest of the contest. A Carlson jumper and an assisting pass to Larson down low put the Mavericks back up by double figures. MCW scored six more points over the next minute and change, bringing its lead to 32-15 with 50 seconds before the halftime buzzer.

The Clippers walked out of the halftime break into a 2-3 zone of their own, hoping to prevent the easy pass and cut opportunities Anderson’s team was finding up to that point. Rohman took advantage of the late shifts in the defense, starting the half strong with two 3-pointers that gave MCW a 38-25 lead at the 16-minute mark.

Carlson drained two more mid-range jumpers of her own to continue the scoring run, taking advantage of the lapses in the zone and forcing Cleveland out of the defensive scheme.

However, the Mavericks didn’t stop scoring. MCW’s offense continued to find efficient looks around the paint, using back cuts and timely passing that continued to build on its advantage. Following a Carlson jump shot, the Mavericks strung together four consecutive layups in the paint, prompting the Clippers’ head coach, Myriah Rutz, to call a timeout at 11:03 with her team down 50-28.

“I thought we were a lot more patient tonight in our offense,” Anderson said. “We worked for a good shot instead of forcing some. We are working towards getting better every day, and tonight we took a step forward.”

The Mavericks (12-9) continue their season this Friday against Sleepy Eye Saint Mary’s. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.