The Bainbridge Spartans gave a powerful performance at Wednesday’s home game against the Quakers which left the visitors from Franklin High, well, quaking.

The BHS varsity girls basketball team plowed through their opponent from Seattle, taking the lead early and finishing the night with a 65-17 final score.

Wednesday’s game started out evenly, but the Spartans quickly took the lead and ran with it, leading 32-10 at the end of the first half.

The third quarter saw Bainbridge on a scoring spree, jumping to 54-13 by the start of the game’s final quarter.

The win at home during the team’s first outing since the holiday break was a much-needed confidence booster for the team, said Spartan Head Coach Nicole Hebner.

“The first quarter was a little close,” she said. “When you look at [Franklin’s] record overall, they haven’t had the most successful year. We needed a game like that where we could come out and knock down some shots.”

The win at home elevated the team’s overall season record to 3-5.

It was also, according to game officials, the 600th win ever for the BHS girls basketball program. And all told, the Spartan girls have put a combined total of 47,413 points on the board.

Numbers wise, the Quakers haven’t impressed much recently. Franklin’s overall season record fell to 0-9 with the loss to Bainbridge.

Offensively, the early lead gave the Spartans some slack and allowed Hebner to play some junior team members who haven’t yet had much court time this year.

Nevertheless, a few familiar names rose to the top of the BHS score sheet. The Spartans were again led offensively by sophomore guard Taylor Tye, who managed 18 points.

Tye, a perpetual BHS points leader, has averaged 12.1 points per game so far this season.

Though an obvious standout player, Hebner said there isn’t a trace of diva in Tye’s style — on or off the court.

“She’s probably the nicest kid you’ll ever meet,” the coach said. “She always has a smile on her face. When she plays at her best, we play at our best.”

Tye’s regular and impressive contributions to the team’s game does not go unnoticed, Hebner said, especially by the competition.

“She has a lot of pressure on her,” Hebner explained. “People look at our averages online and say, ‘Hey, this kid can throw all their points.’ So, it’s nice to see the others stepping up and taking some pressure off of her.”

Katie Usellis is the team’s next top overall scorer, averaging nine points per game. She scored 11 against Franklin.

Also stepping up in Wednesday’s game was fellow Spartan senior Sydney Gibbs, who ended the night with nine points.

Carly Lant, Kiera Havill, and Paige Brigham each chipped in five points as well.

Hebner said that now, being more than halfway through the season, the Spartans’ most improved area of play was also the most critical to maintain: teamwork.

“I think they’re doing a phenomenal job of playing team basketball,” she said, adding that this year’s squad has meshed much better than previous ones.

“They’re doing a great job working a unit,” Hebner explained. “I think that they’re having a ton of fun. You can see it on the court. They play with a lot of energy, a lot of heart.”

“That, you can’t teach,” she said.

The Spartans return home to host Nathan Hale at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14.