DOWAGIAC — A slow start doomed the Dowagiac girls basketball team Friday night.

Visiting Sturgis outscored the Chieftains 30-12 in the second half as the Trojans rolled to an easy 62-29 win over Dowagiac in the Wolverine Conference South Division opener for both teams.

The Trojans (2-2, 1-1 West) scored 16 points in each of the first two quarters to open up a 32-17 halftime advantage.

Things did not get better for the Chieftains (2-3, 0-1 South) in the final 16 minutes, as Sturgis took a 48-21 lead into the fourth quarter.

“We had a fast start, and got the ball where we wanted to get it,” said Dowagiac coach Brent Nate. “We got it to Amiyah Smith, our leading scorer, and she was making shots. We got the ball in a position where we could get some looks, but when they did not fall, our offense directly affected our defense and we stopped playing.”

Smith scored five of her team-high 15 points in the opening quarter, and all but four of those points in the opening half.

“Our effort was not where it needed to be tonight,” Nate said. “They exploited it.”

Bailegh Brazo led Sturgis with 15 points, while De’Ashia Sanders added 13 and Sage Graves added 11 points.

Dowagiac will head to Edwardsburg for another Wolverine Conference South Division contest Thursday night.

Tipoff is set for 5:45 p.m.