CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 18 Parkland women's basketball extended winning streak to six games with a 94-51 victory over the visiting Trojans of Triton on Saturday inside the Donald Dodds Athletic Complex. Winning three of the four quarters by double digits, the Cobras' 95 points and 44-point margin of victory marks their largest of the season. Freshman forward Emily Meinert recorded her first career double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds), while guard Crystal Mathis led all scorers with 19 points.

Leading wire-wire, Parkland used pressure defense and efficient shooting to overwhelm Triton. Defensively, the Cobras forced 29 Trojan turnovers and converted them into 29 points, including 16 in transition. Offensively, Parkland shot 53.2-percent from the field, 41.2-percent from three-point range, and netted 22 free throws. Parkland also received 45 points off the bench.

Recording her first double-double, Meinert hit six of her nine shots, plus all four of her free throw attempts, and brought down a season-high 10 rebounds. Productive second and third quarters paved the way to the double-double as Galesburg, Ill., product scored six points and brought down four rebounds in the second period and then added six more points and three more rebounds coming out of halftime.

For Mathis, the 19 points set a new season-high for the sophomore guard and marked the fifth time she has scored in double-figures this season. The Rockford, Ill., native connected on five of her nine shots, including three from distance, and knocked down seven of her nine free-throw attempts.

Joining Mathis and Meinert in double figures, Shoente'ra Russell and Alexus Cole each tallied 10 points on the day and hit four of the team's seven three-pointers. Point guards Lotte Miller and Olivia Babcock set up the Cobra scoring with six and five assists, respectively.

Parkland's pressure defense ignited the dominate first quarter, forcing six early turnovers and scoring two easy buckets off steals. Scoring the first four points of the game off a steal and layup by Gemma Recasens and two made free throws by Tapscott following a steal, the Cobras went on a 16-0 run to push a 4-2 advantage out to 20-2 in less than five minutes. The Cobras would go on to outscore the Trojans by four points the rest of the way, holding a 22-point lead after 10 minutes.

Coming out of the quarter break with another 4-0 spurt, Parkland's lead reached its largest of the half at 36-10 off a pair of Triton turnovers converted into buckets by Meinert. However, the visitors responded with a pair of 8-0 runs over the next five minutes to cut the lead to 14 at 41-27. A free throw by Mathis and a jump shot by Meinert pushed the lead back to 17, 44-27, going into halftime. 

After being outscored in the second quarter, the Cobras bounced back to outscore the Trojans by 27 points in the second half, starting with a 17-point advantage in the third period on 66.7-percent shooting. After the two sides traded baskets to start the half, the Cobras again converted turnovers into two Mathis layups to start a 13-2 run that stretched across four minutes. Mathis then capped off the quarter with four free throws to total eight of her 11 second-half points. Aiding the third-period run was an 11-4 rebound edge, led by Meinert's four boards to go along with six third-quarter points.

Holding a commanding 34-point lead entering the final period, early buckets from Tapscott and Mathis kept the momentum on the Cobras side. Shooting above 50-percent for the second straight quarter, Parkland knocked down 58.3-percent of their shots, including a trio of threes, and forced eight more turnovers. Three Cobras led the final period with five points, as Shoente'ra Russell and Sam Jones-Tinsley hit two shots and Lotte Miller knocked down five free throws.

Up next, the Cobras will continue its three-game homestand on Wednesday, December 5, when Greenville JV visits at 5:30 p.m. central time. The final game of the homestand comes three days later, December 8, when the Cobras host Waubonsee at 1 p.m.