The Millennium Tigers girls basketball team continued its stellar start to its 2016-17 season, defeating Desert Vista 60-33 Thursday night at home.

The Tigers were dominant on the defensive side, holding the Thunder to under 10 points in the first, third and fourth quarters. On offense, Millinnium coach Courtland Rojeck said that he was pleased with the way his team moved and shot the ball.

“We watched film for three hours yesterday and talked about all the missed open spots we had,” said Rojeck about his team’s offensive lapses in Tuesday’s win over Desert Edge. “We drew smiley faces on all the open girls in the film and said, ‘Ladies, you want to pass to the smiley faces.’”

Millennium sophomore Dominique Phillips was all smiles Thursday after logging 20 points, 12 of which came from long range.

The Tigers also received strong performances from Ali Zelaya (nine points) and Alexyss Newman (11 points). The 3-0 Tigers, mainly comprised of juniors and underclassmen, did show signs of their youth, committing 16 fouls and some communication errors. But despite those issues the team was relatively dominant.

As for the 16 fouls, most of them weren’t shooting fouls, giving the Thunder only seven attempts from the free-throw line.

The Thunder didn’t exactly also play penalty-free basketball either, racking up 12 fouls, seven of which sent someone to the line for two shots. The Tigers converted 9 of their 14 free throws (64 percent).

“I think we were on an emotional high from (Tuesday’s 68-55 loss to) Valley Vista, and we just didn’t execute on defense tonight,” Thunder head coach Rodney Berry said. “We just sat down. We’re a better defensive team than that. Our offense wasn’t hitting our shots. We just didn’t play ball today.”

Both teams don’t have much time to breathe as their week continues Friday. The Tigers take on the Horizon Huskies at Horizon, and the Thunder (2-5) head home to take on the Sandra Day O’Connor Eagles at home.