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The final numbers were similar, but moods of La Conner and South Whidbey players couldn’t have been more different at Landy James Gym Saturday afternoon.

That’s because the Lady Braves transposed the winning score, creating a lopsided margin of victory, in their matinee non-league hoop matchup.

La Conner routed South Whidbey 61-16 in a game where from the start, everything added up nicely for the Braves.

The hosts bolted to a quick double-digit lead, seizing command 21-6 in the first frame, en route to a 35-10 advantage at intermission.

The Lady Braves never looked back.

They didn’t have to, in fact, as La Conner held South Whidbey scoreless in the fourth quarter.

Aubrey Stewart and Anna Cook paced the Lady Braves, who dominated play in the paint.

Stewart finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. Cook added 15 tallies and seven boards.

They led a balanced La Conner attack.

Katie Novak and Katie McKnight chipped in nine points apiece for the victors. All Novak’s points came from behind the trey arc. McKnight hit a pair of three-pointers and also converted three of four free throws.

Frosh reserve Nakiya Edwards was perfect on two three-point attempts, meshing six points.

Nicole Henriksen and Kelley McClung rounded out La Conner’s scoring with four and two points, respectively.

Lauren Reynolds recorded four steals and dished off an assist for La Conner, which improved to 4-2 going into its Friday meeting with Ingraham at the Port Townsend Invitational Holiday Tournament.

The Dec. 27 tipoff on the peninsula is set for 12:30 p.m.

Lady Braves Head Coach Scott Novak would like nothing better than for his club to pick up with the Seattle school where it left off against South Whidbey.

“I thought we did a great job of executing our offense,” Coach Novak said of La Conner’s romp past the Lady Falcons. “I like how we worked our inside-outside game. The kids passed the ball well and were always looking for open teammates.”

The result was a fine 44 percent outing from the field in which La Conner hit nearly half its shot attempts – 16 of 34 – inside the three-point stripe.

The Lady Braves were eight of 14 from the foul line.

Just as impressive, Coach Novak said afterward, was La Conner’s ability to limit miscues. The Lady Braves were guilty of just 12 turnovers.

“I thought we protected the ball pretty well,” he stressed. “Any time you limit yourself to under 15 turnovers, that’s a good thing.”

By contrast, La Conner rang up 19 steals against a South Whidbey club that was rattled from the get-go.

“They’ve got a very young team this year,” Coach Novak said of the Langley school.

Not so, the Lady Braves. And even with a veteran roster, winning doesn’t seem to get old for La Conner.

“These players,” said Coach Novak, “are always willing to put in the time and do what it takes to get better.”