After a two-week Christmas break, complete with games cancelled due to the snowstorm, the Mathews High School varsity girls’ basketball team returned to the court Monday to face King and Queen in their first district contest of the season.

Mathews jumped to an early 17-5 lead and continued to control the tempo as they crushed the visiting Royal Tigers, 46-25. The Lady Devils played very well on defense, which allowed them to get rebounds and push the ball up the court.

Coach Robert Thomas was able to substitute freely; another bright spot for the Lady Devils was the return of senior Lindsay Collins, who was coming off an injury.

Ashley Forrest led MHS with eight points, followed by Sharese Jarvis and freshman Megan Zellar with seven points each. Kaitlin Eriksen and Collins had six points each. Taylor Denton and Shelby Ware combined for eight, and Mackenzie Moughon and Emily Brown added two each.

The Lady Devils return to the court on Friday night to face the Rappahannoc...