O'Connor overcame a sluggish first quarter to defeat Hamilton, 59-47 in a non-region 6A contest Thursday night in south Chandler.

The Eagles trailed 18-9 before reeling off 13 straight points to start the second quarter and taking a 27-22 lead into halftime. The Huskies never got closer than five points the rest of the game. Audrey Bhesania (16) and Ava Schooler (14) combined for 30 points for O'Connor, while center Kamara Moss scored eight of her 10 points to help put the game out of reach for Hamilton.

Bhesania, a junior shooting guard, reached 1,000 career points in the third quarter to highlight the game for O'Connor.

"We didn't shoot very well in the first quarter but I have a lot of trust in my team and these girls have a lot of trust in eachother," O'Connor coach Charles Wilson said afterward. "We got contributions from everyone tonight so it was a real team effort. Kamara came up big in the fourth quarter and our twin freshmen (Mia and Sophia Davis) hit some timely shots, and of course it was a special night for Audrey."

The win should help O'Connor (12-7) move up in the Open Division power point rankings from its current spot at No. 17. Hamilton (13-10) entered the game No. 8 in the Open rankings.

"After the first quarter I think we just kind of figured out that we had to attack to be able to score," Bhesania said of the Eagles slow start. "Once we did that we just started getting going and having our way with them."

Hamilton freshman Destiny Benway lifted the Huskies to their quick start with eight first quarter points that included two 3-pointers. But poor shooting in the second quarter coupled with O'Connor's aggressive offense turned the game around, and Hamilton was playing catch up the entire second half.

Sage Henry scored a team high 16 points for Hamilton, who will try to stay undefeated in Premier Region play Monday night at home against Basha.

O'Connor is 4-0 in the Desert Region and will turnaround and host rival Mountain Ridge Friday night at home.