ARLINGTON — The plan was simple for the Eagles: keep the tempo as fast as possible.

“We emphasized pushing the ball tonight to get everybody involved and back on track,” said coach Nathan Davis after his girls defeated Mariner 59-18 in a Western Conference matchup Jan. 6.

As it turned out, that pace left the Marauders in the dust from the start as Arlington began the game with runs of 10-0 and 12-0 that were sandwiched by Mariner’s first basket halfway through the first quarter.

When everything is going right it’s hard to key in on a specific aspect of play that led to the results, but backcourt defense was essential for the Eagles.

“Our defense up top was just great,” said Davis. “Krista Showalter did a terrific job putting pressure on them.”

Showalter finished with six steals, six points and likely as many bruises from diving for loose balls.

And while the Eagles were taking the ball away from Mariner, they were getting as many shots as they needed to score, posting 10 offensive rebounds in the first quarter and outrebounding their opponent 28-10 in the first half.

“We did a good job of attacking offensively, and even if they missed we would just follow it up,” said Davis.

Leading the Eagles in rebounding was sophomore Lindsay Brown who finished with seven to go along with a team-high 11 points.

The Eagles had about as even of a performance on offense as any coach could ask for as junior Lexi Sarver had 10 points and Josie Foster added six.

In fact, all 12 players on Arlington’s roster notched at least two points.

“That’s pretty special,” said Davis. “We don’t get too many games where we can do that.”

As impressive as the score may be, the Eagles did have a period in the second quarter where they pushed the ball into the Marauders’ hands, but that is just what happens when a team tries to play quickly.

“Those sort of things happen when everybody gets involved,” said Davis. “We came out of it in the second half a little more organized.”