A season-opening rout, seven points and a birthday cake in the Tonganoxie bleachers.

But all the birthday girl could talk about after the game was basketball — more specifically, Tonganoxie’s 63-25 victory against St. Mary’s.

“I thought our defense was pretty strong,” Weller said.

Tonganoxie’s defense — whether it was trapping, pressing or half-court — befuddled the visiting Bears.

Tonganoxie went into the locker room with a 35-15 edge and never looked back.

“I was pretty pleased, especially in the second half,” THS coach Randy Kraft said. “We did a lot better job executing.”

Tonganoxie had three players in double figures — Ali Pistora had 14, Addie Heim 12 and Heather Deaver 13. Deaver’s double-digit output was a career-high as a varsity player. Freshman Elizabeth Baska chipped in nine points as the Chieftains improved to 1-0 on the season.

Tonganoxie now will head south to the Ike Cearfoss Tournament at Central Heights near Richmond. Last year, the tournament was played in Garnett, but it’s moving to CHHS this season.

Joining Tonganoxie at the tournament are Burlington, Wellsville, Anderson County, Chanute, Osawatomie, Central Heights and De Soto. Burlington finished last year in the state tournament with a 22-2 record.

The Chieftains played Osawatomie on Tuesday and will play at either 5 p.m. or 8 p.m. Thursday. A win puts them in the later slot, while a loss sends them to the loser’s bracket and the earlier tip-off.

The tournament concludes Friday. The seventh-place game starts at 3:30 p.m., fifth place at 5 p.m., third place at 6:30 p.m. and the championship will tip-off at 8 p.m. Tonganoxie went 1-2 at last year’s tournament.

BOX SCORE

St. Mary’s 7 8 6 4 — 25

Tonganoxie 14 21 16 12 — 63

Individual scoring

St. Mary’s (0-1) — Laura Brunin 10, Debbie Diesel 2, Allison DeVader 6, Meagan Moylan 5, Morgan Moylan 2.

Tonganoxie (1-0) — Ai Pistora 14, Elizabeth Baska 9, Addie Heim 12, Madison Weller 7, Kelley Stauch 2, Rachel Bogard 2, Laura Jeannin 4, Heather Deaver 13.