December is here, and with that, basketball season at Meridian High School has officially tipped off. One night after the boys opened their campaign by blowing out John Lewis on the road, it was time for the girls to get going as they hosted Briar Woods. Bringing back three starters from last year’s State Finals team while adding a handful of new contributors to provide some depth, hopes are high for another season full of success for Chris Carrico’s squad.

Nora Stufft, one of the primary holdovers from last season, earned Meridian’s first points of the season on the Mustangs’ opening possession, and she ended up scoring the first eight for Meridian as the home took an early 8-4 lead. But Briar Woods got hot from behind the arc to spark a 12-0 run in response, and after trailing 18-11 after a quarter, the Mustangs found themselves facing a double-digit deficit early in the second period. Now it was their turn to get on a run, and Meridian scored 12 straight as Ellie Friesen knocked down a couple threes and Stufft made a pair of layups to tie and then take the lead. Stufft and Friesen combined for all but one point in the first half, as the two teams went into the break knotted up at 26.

Briar Woods got the opening bucket of the second half, but that would be the last time they’d lead. Another 8-0 Mustang run put the home team ahead for good, and after a low-scoring third quarter, Meridian led 36-30. The advantage increased to double digits in the final frame, with the Mustangs getting some other contributors involved as they capped off an extended 32-11 run to go ahead 43-32 early in the quarter. They’d win by a final score of 48-37, starting their season off with a tally in the victory column.

Stufft led the scoring with 20, 16 of which were in the first half. Friesen joined her in double figures with 11, while Charlotte Lieu and Rose Weatherly each had six. The Mustangs will take to the court again on Friday night as they host district opponent Kettle Run.