CONTESTED SHOT — Big Red’s Phynyx Fleming fights through contact from Zanesville’s Kamy Morgan to attempt a shot while Big Red’s Nylah McShan and Zanesville’s Lakeyah Butcher look on during Wednesday’s Division III East District tournament opener. - Andrew Grimm

STEUBENVILLE — When tournament time rolls around, teams typically do not go away easily.

Zanesville certainly did not Wednesday night after Big Red jumped out to a big, early lead. However, Steubenville had the needed responses to finish the job and advance with a 56-42 victory in the opening round of the tourney inside the Crimson Center.

Big Red, the No. 3 seed, scored the first 14 points of the game and looked poised to run away with things, but the fifth-seeded Blue Devils started to create turnovers and used a 15-6 run to pull back within five.

A 3 from Zanesville’s Aniah Barnett to start the third quarter again cut the lead to five, but Big Red rattled off the next nine points and the deficit was never in single digits again.

“Zanesville kept coming, they kept punching,” Big Red head coach Angie Forte said. “They knocked down some shots and played hard, they wouldn’t let us pull away. In the tournament, no one is going to make it easy. We talked about not coming out flat, from here on out at this time of the year you can’t get behind, you have to be dialed in and ready to go.

“We came in at halftime and talked about turnovers, needing to do a better job of cleaning up the boards and the girls responded. They came out in the second half and did the things we needed them to do.”

Big Red went on a 15-2 run to start the fourth quarter, all but putting things away building the lead to as many 22 points.

Nylah McShan was again the catalyst for Big Red, netting a game-high 27 points in another double-double effort. She went 12 of 18 from the foul line, where Big Red as a team converted on 15 of 28 attempts.

Lucy Saccoccia finished with 11 points, while Phynyx Fleming tallied nine and Bailee Beall six.

Big Red advances to travel to No. 2 seed Dover on Saturday at 1 p.m.

“It’s special for the girls to win their last home game,” Forte said. “They have worked hard and the girls have really rallied around each other.

“Dover is a well-coached team and a good program, they know us as well we know them.

“It’s going to be a battle for four quarters. At this time of the season, that’s what you’re looking for.”

OHSAA Division III East District Tournament

First Round

No. 3 Steubenville 56, No. 5 Zanesville 42

Z 5-10-10-17 – 42

S 14-9-13-20 – 56

ZANESVILLE (5-18): Norman 1 0-0 2; Barnett 2 0-1 5; Morgan 4 0-0 10; Dickinson 0 3-4 3; McCuen 0 0-0 0; Walker 3 2-2 8; Butcher 1 0-0 3; Gladden 2 1-2 5; Newman 2 1-3 5. TOTALS: 15, 6-12; 42.

STEUBENVILLE (15-7): Saccoccia 4 2-4 11; C. Scurry 1 0-0 3; Fleming 4 0-2 9; Vein 0 0-0 0; McShan 7 12-18; 27; Beall 2 1-5 6; Bickerstaff 0 0-0 0; A. Scurry 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 18, 15-29; 56.

3-POINTERS: Zanesville 5 (Morgan 2, Barnett, Butcher, Newman); Steubenville 5 (Saccoccia, C. Scurry, Fleming, McShan, Beall).