A&M Consolidated's girls basketball team could have looked past Copperas Cove to its upcoming battle for the District 12-5A lead, but why go to the trouble when you can see through an opponent?

The Lady Tigers shot holes in Copperas Cove, pouring in 10 3-pointers during a first-half blitz and cruising to a 61-34 victory over the Lady Bulldawgs at Tiger Gym on Tuesday night.

Consol streaked to a 42-13 halftime lead and was not threatened after the opening minutes. The Lady Tigers (24-8, 10-2) remained one game behind district leader Harker Heights, which Consol will visit Friday.

"I think we were just motivated because we knew we could be playing for first [place] Friday at Harker Heights," said senior Tori Tucker, who lit the fuse on Consol's offensive explosion with a couple of 3-pointers. "Coach [Karen Heintz] kept telling us to play like we were playing for first."

The Lady Tigers overwhelmed a Copperas Cove team looking for its 20th victory and in the playoff hunt. The loss dropped the Lady Dawgs (19-13, 6-6) out of a tie for fourth place in 12-5A and likely will cripple their postseason hopes.

Copperas Cove coach Teresa Durham called three first-half timeouts and changed defenses a couple of times, but nothing worked. The Lady Tigers connected on 10 of 20 attempts from behind the 3-point line, all of the treys coming during a pair of devastating runs. Consol scored 18 consecutive points in the first quarter and 21 straight in the second.

As the teams took the floor for the third quarter, Durham jokingly asked Heintz if she could tell the Lady Tigers to miss one.

"They drilled us," Durham said. "They just shot incredible. They are a really good team. I don't think they are 30 points better than us, but it goes to show you that when you don't come prepared to play or other teams are on, you're going to get taken to the woodshed."

The Lady Bulldawgs trailed 54-19 after three quarters but closed the gap by making 7 of 19 shots in the final period. Through three quarters, Consol allowed the visitors to hit just 7 of 29 while forcing 20 turnovers.

"I thought we played as well as a team as we have in two years," Heintz said. "We shared the ball. We hedged on defense. We did the dirty work. Our theme was be great for each other."

Tori Tucker was pretty terrific for her mother, Consol assistant coach Lori Shead, who missed the game because she was scouting possible playoff opponents. Tucker, so locked in that Copperas Cove tried a box-and-one defense against her, finished with 11 points and eight steals.

"I'm signing [with Mary Hardin-Baylor] tomorrow and I wanted to play a good game," Tucker said. "My momma wasn't here and it's her birthday, so I played for her."

Blair Schaefer made four treys and scored 19 points for Consol, while Tierra Tucker added 13 points and seven assists. Micayla Gooden led the Lady Tigers with eight rebounds.

Copperas Cove made its first three shots and led 6-3 before Consol scored the next 18 points. The visitors hit the first shot of the second quarter but then missed 12 in a row during a 21-0 blitz that gave the Lady Tigers a 42-10 lead late in the half.

"One of the things we needed to work on was not taking a possession off, and I don't think we took a possession off in the first quarter," Heintz said. "If you can string together two quarters like that, you have a great half."

Consol 61, Copperas Cove 34

(Numbers indicate field goals, free throws made-attempted, fouls and points)

CONSOL (24-8, 10-2) -- Tiara Tucker 1 1-4 2 4; Tori Tucker 4 0-0 2 11; Blair Schaefer 5 4-6 2 19; Callie Eddens 0 0-0 0 0; Cierra Thomas 1 0-3 0 2; Morgan Smith 2 0-0 0 6; Micayla Gooden 0 2-2 0 2; Tierra Tucker 5 2-4 0 13; Madison Becker 0 0-0 0 0; Kaycee Cermin 0 2-2 0 2; Beth Ashley 1 0-0 1 2. Totals: 19 12-21 7 61.

COPPERAS COVE (19-13, 6-6) -- Brittany Gamble 6 0-0 2 14; Sarai Rodriguez 1 2-2 2 5; Erisha Talley 2 1-2 1 5; Mikayla Blount 3 0-0 2 6; Jasmin Johnson 0 0-0 2 0; Alex Rodriguez 0 0-0 0 0; Tateyana Harris 0 0-0 3 0; Bryaunea Hall 1 0-0 3 2; Carlie Tuiasosopo 1 0-0 0 2. Totals: 14 3-4 15 34.

Copperas Cove85615--34

Consol2121127--61

Field goal shooting: Consol 19-56, Cove 14-48.

3-point shooting: Consol 11-28, Cove 3-9.

Rebounds: Consol 39, Cove 35.

Turnovers: Consol 13, Cove 24.

JV: Consol 42, Cove 32. Consol -- Bowman 12, Daily 11.

Next: Consol will play at eighth-ranked Harker Heights on Friday.