A quick start was just what the doctor ordered for the youthful Niles basketball team in its season opener Tuesday night in a 54-12 victory over visiting Bloomingdale.

The Vikings (1-0) got off to a hot start from the outside, connecting on six 3-pointers in the opening eight minutes, including four by senior Maureen Craig.

That quick start helped Niles open up a 22-5 advantage after one quarter.

But from that point on in the first half, the Vikings struggled. Craig’s triple with 1:58 left in the first quarter would be the last field goal Niles would hit until Taylor Brandstatter took a Craig pass following a turnover and turned it into a layup and a 20-point advantage (25-5).

Fortunately for the Vikings, Bloomingdale was unable to take advantage of the dry spell and had trouble even getting off shots in the first half against the Niles pressure defense.

The Cardinals go more than seven minutes between baskets and when Iris Carey finally snaps that streak with a bucket with 3:37 left in the first half, Bloomingdale finds itself down 29-7.

The Vikings finally find a way to score inside as Brandstatter puts in a pair of layups and Brooke Wilson scores with 2:04 to play in the second quarter to give Niles a 35-7 lead.

The Vikings would settle for a 35-8 lead at the half.

“We have kids that have very limited varsity experience and I was proud of how they executed early in the press and they (Bloomingdale) had trouble with it obviously,” Niles coach Patrick Touhey said. “We were talking before the game that it was important for us to get off to a fast start just so the kids who have not played a lot could get some confidence. That did materialize, but what I was most happy about was even though we got quite a spread there in the first half the kids kept their energy level up.”

The pace of the game slowed quite a bit in the second half, but by then there was no way the Cardinals were going to be able to get back into the contest.

Bloomingdale (0-1) had trouble all night getting into any type of offensive flow as the Vikings’ defense continued to work hard throughout the four quarters.

Niles outscored the Cardinals 12-4 in the third quarter and 7-0 in the final eight minutes, part of which was played with a running clock due to the mercy rule.

Craig finished the night with a game-high 21 points, while Alexis Arnold added 10 points and Brandstatter six.

Niles a 37-13 advantage in the rebounding department with Loshonda Greene grabbing a career-high 15. The Vikings also forced 32 turnovers with Craig finishing the night with nine steals and Brandstatter 5. Brandstatter also had six assists.

Shelby Harris led Bloomingdale with four points.

Niles will play host to South Bend St. Joseph Saturday night.

BLOOMINGDALE 12

Chelsea Starbeck 1 0-1 3, Shelby Harris 1 2-6 4, Jessica Bryant 0 0-0, Jessica Crawford 0 0-0, Jeronian Serna 0 0-1 0, Breanna Austin 0 0-4 0, Iris Carey 1 1-2 3, Erica DeLoach 0 0-2 0, Siara Reed 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 4 3-6 12

NILES 54

Taylor Brandstatter 2 2-2 6, Karon Nichols 0 0-0, Alexis Arnold 4 0-3 10, Kylee Myer 1 1-4 3, Sarah Smith 0 0-2 0, Brooke Wilson 1 2-8 4, Maureen Craig 6 4-5 21, Eva Nemeth 0 0-0, Anna Sinkkink 1 0-0 2, Loshonda Greene 1 2-6 4, Michelle Briand 2 0-0 4, Jackie Groom 0 0-0, Sarah Cramer 0 0-3 0. TOTALS: 18 11-30 54

Bloomingdale 5 8 12 12

Niels 22 35 47 54

3-point baskets: Niles 7 (Craig 5, Arnold 2), Bloomingdale 1 (Starbeck). Total fouls (fouled out): Bloomingdale 22 (Bryant), Niles 20

Varsity records: Bloomingdale 0-1, Niles 1-0