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ELIDA - It was time to put down the Christmas boxes and assorted goodies and pick up the basketball.

This transition came easier for some than others.

Liberty-Benton struggled for a half before rolling past Elida 53-39 on the opening night Friday of the girls basketball Vicki Mauk Holiday Invitational at the Elida Fieldhouse.

In the first game of the night, Minster shot 71 percent in the first half and cruised past Miller City, 63-38.

Liberty-Benton (5-0) will meet Minster (4-2) in the Mauk Holiday championship game at close to 2:30 p.m. today. The Elida (3-4)-Miller City (2-5) consolation game will start at 1 p.m.

Liberty-Benton was led by 5-foot-10 junior Amanda Hyde, who had 23 points and 15 rebounds. She admitted it took the Eagles a while to get going, as they led Elida 22-21 at the half.

"This is the first experience for our team playing in a tournament like this," Hyde said. "We didn't practice yesterday, as I'm sure all the teams didn't. We had to get into the flow, but after that, we got into our groove and we played well. ... It was definitely different. We'll learn from it."

Liberty-Benton started the third quarter with a 13-3 run to pull out to a 34-24 lead. The Eagles led 38-27 after three quarters and we never challenged in the final quarter.

"In the third quarter we were a little more aggressive in our traps and it wore their guards down a little more, and we were able to get some turnovers and some easy points in transition," Liberty-Benton coach Nate Irwin said.

"I think they broke our press pretty easily, got a lot of points in transition and knocked down a couple of shots," Elida coach Steve Fersch said. "That one quarter was the difference tonight.

"They were a better team than us tonight. They played better, they executed better and they played harder."

Chelsy Simpson led Elida with 13 points. Chelsea Mathias scored 12 points with two 3-pointers.

The Eagles had eight turnovers against the Elida press. Liberty-Benton's press forced 19 Elida turnovers.

Minster 63, Miller City 38

Minster needed only a few minutes to shake off the holidays. The Widcats took a 14-12 lead and used its defense to spark a 17-2 run. With 6:15 left in the first half, Minster's lead had grown to 31-14.

During that run, guard Kara Monnin had a pair of 3-pointers and a fast-break layup. Jessi Brown (eight points) had a steal and two fast-break layups.

"We got off to a good, quick start and Kara Monnin jump started us," Minster coach Nann Stechschulte said. "We were able to get some in transition and they were able to get down and get their feet set and then kick it out and give it to them."

Monnin led Minster with 14 points and four 3-pointers, all coming in the first half when she was 5-of-5 from the field. Erica Fullenkamp had 12 points.

"It was a nice game to come back from Christmas," Stechschulte said. "I've been worried about this game. You're coming off a day off and it's Christmas, so they've been sitting around for two days eating and I didn't know how they would respond."

Minster hit 17-of-24 in the first half (71 percent) to grab a 40-19 lead at the half. The Wildcats ended up shooting 56 percent for the game.

Becca Steinemann had six points and seven rebounds to help Minster outrebound Miller City, 32-19

Carrie Griggs, who was scoreless at the half, paced Miller City with 13 points.

Minster forced 19 turnovers.