MONROE — The Lady Bears used a huge second quarter to take down Central Academy 78-54 Monday night.

Mount Airy was the only local girls team to hit the road for the first round, but the Bears made it a perfect 4-4 for the local squads.

The Bears improved to 16-10, while Central Academy fell 9-16. While Mount Airy had the better record, Central Academy had the higher seeding priority this year.

In the first quarter, the Bears took a slim 12-10 lead, but then they exploded for 28 points in the second.

“We did a very good job of pressuring the ball and knocking down open shots,” said Coach Howard Mayo. “We hit five three-pointers in that quarter.”

That gave the visiting team a 40-23 lead at the break.

“We kept the pressure up in the third quarter,” Mayo said. “We forced them into 22 turnovers overall.”

Putting up another 22 points in the third gave the Bears a 62-38 lead going into the fourth.

“We got to play everyone,” he said. “That’s a good thing.”

Ten different players scored for Mount Airy, led by Symone Simmons with 16.

Sharpshooters Alex Atkins and Jasmine Varney had 15 and 13 points, respectively.

Mikayla Seivers had 10 points, Dana Brown eight, Davi Barbour six, Ayano Shelton four, Andi Moore three, Jordan Jackson two and Skylar Flippen one.

“As a team, we had 20 assists,” said Mayo. “Sharing the basketball: when we do that, we’re a much tougher matchup.”

Seivers and Barbour had five assists each to lead the team.

Also leading the team, Atkins grabbed five rebounds and Brown made four steals.

As for the local girls going undefeated Monday, Mayo said, “I think our conference is pretty tough, and I think that shows right there.”

After traveling all the way to Monroe to face Central Academy, the Bears have to make the same long trip Wednesday to play Monroe High.