They have a lot of high expectations this season, and on opening night, those praises came to light.

After a sloppy first half that saw Tecumseh lead by 13, the Arrows girls’ basketball team turned up the heat in the second half and had no trouble with Vandalia Butler 72-35 in front of a very good crowd at Reynolds Gymnasium.

“It was ugly for the first game, but as a team it was a good balanced win,” said Tecumseh coach Danielle Thomas.  “It was nice to have early foul trouble and sustain things.  We are deeper on the bench this year.”

“Even with Lindsey (Nartker) in foul trouble for it seemed like half the game, we maintained things out there and it wasn’t even close.”

Tecumseh jumped in front early, leading 12-4 in the opening period of play. As a sign of things to come, four players scored during that run, as the Arrows built their lead.

Corinne Thomas pushed the lead out to 17-8 with five quick points, including a three. Butler ended the quarter on a 4-1 run to close the game to 18-12 after the opening period.

A 7-3 run to start the second period gave Tecumseh a 10 point lead, and they never looked back. The Arrows enjoyed a 34-21 lead at the half.

Tecumseh exploded in the third quarter, opening with a 14-0 run to put the game away. Presley Griffitts scored four points during that run, while Allison Berner added a three, and seniors Caroline Smith and Nartker each added points. Thomas connected on another three to make it 48-21 before Butler senior Shelby Moses could score to stop the run.

The lead was 57-28 after three, and Tecumseh used a 15-10 final period of play to conclude the win.

The freshman Thomas led with 16 points, one of five players in double figures. Franklin and Griffitts each added 14, Narkter scored 12 and Smith had 10.

“We had five kids in double figures, when is the last time we did that at Tecumseh?” Thomas said. “We got great effort from all the kids and our balance showed tonight.”

Everyone knows what to expect from Nartker, Franklin and Smith, but what about the two key freshmen stepping up to the big stage? The Tecumseh coach was impressed.

“I knew they were both ready, but would they believe it, that was the question,” she said. “What is great is they have played so long together, they really feed off of each other so well.”

“It is going to be whoever has the hot hand this year for us every night,” she added. “Tonight, everyone did their job, it was a good solid team win.”

Tecumseh hosts Graham tonight, then Kenton Ridge comes to town on Saturday for a 7:30 game.