It might still be early in the MAC White Division play, but Anchor Bay took a giant step on Friday night in its hopes for a potential league title.

The Tars traveled to Romeo with both teams entering the game at 2-0 in the division. Thanks to some big shot-making and solid defense in the second half, Anchor Bay walked away with a 58-48 victory over the Bulldogs.“Romeo is much better than their record shows,” Anchor Bay coach Jennifer Thiede said. “They are always well-coached and it’s a rivalry. We told our players we needed to play our best to beat this team.

“We responded in the second quarter and in the second half to close it out. We played better defense and took care of the ball better in the second half for sure.”

Both teams came out firing in the first quarter, which ended with Anchor Bay leading 18-14. Romeo, though, went on an 11-4 run, gaining a 25-22 lead on a layup by Sam Sackfield with 38 seconds left before halftime.

The Tars answered with a late layup by Ava Seletsky, cutting the Bulldog edge to 25-24 at halftime.

“We have some young kids who are playing well,” Thiede said. “We’re junior led, but Ava has good game awareness and basketball IQ.”

Anchor Bay eventually tied the game 27-27 on a free throw by Karissa Lewis, before ending the third quarter with an 11-7 spurt, taking a 38-34 lead into the final quarter.

“Anchor Bay hit some big shots,” Romeo coach Ron LeBlanc said. “They hit a couple shots late in the third quarter. I really love Karissa’s game. She’s really grown these three years I’ve seen her.”

The final quarter belonged to the Tars, who closed out the game with a 20-14 offensive outburst. Lewis had seven of her team-high 15 points in the frame, while Julia Tkaczyk added six points.

“Karissa has been playing great and has been getting better and better throughout the season,” Thiede said. “Her shooting threat is big for us.”

Thiede added that she was happy with the way her team stepped up rebounding in the second half.

“Rebounding is about heart and desire,” Thiede said. “We had to get position better and go get the ball. We had to have the mentality to limit them to one shot.”

LeBlanc said the squad got away from the consistency and patience on offense in the second half that it was playing with the first half.

“Finishing has been a problem for us all year,” LeBlanc said. “The putbacks have been off, and we’ve had trouble hitting the three all year.”

Besides Lewis’ 15 points, Anchor Bay also received 11 points from Tkaczyk, and 10 from Seletsky. The win improved the Tars’ record to 9-3 overall, 3-0 league.

“The challenge for us is to play four quarters consistently and at a high level,” Thiede said. “We’re trying to stop having major downs where we fall back.”

Romeo was paced by Aya Mosely with 17 points, while Layla Babich added 11 points. Clare Carmody finished with eight points.

“Clare really stepped up,” LeBlanc said. “She played composed today and hit some big shots. She played a great game. Aya had a good game in the post and Layla has been our backbone all year. She played well tonight, too.”

The loss dropped Romeo’s record to 3-9 overall, 2-1 league.

“We have to work on our composure on the offensive side,” LeBlanc said. “The first half we were a much different team offensively. We were composed and making things happen. The second half, not as much. It’s been a problem for us for most of the season.”