Coach John Rossi has spent the year telling the Middletown Madison girls basketball team always to strive to play better than the day before.

When asked what his team could do better after its 100-35 victory over Purcell Marian in the first round of the Division III, District 2 playoffs at Edgewood High School on Saturday, Rossi was at a loss for words.

The top-seeded Mohawks (20-2) dominated the Cavaliers (3-19) from the opening tip, taking less than two minutes to build a double-digit lead that would only grow throughout the afternoon. Eleven first-half steals as well as great passing in both their half-court sets and transition helped Madison open up a 54-15 lead at the break.

“Our team played extremely well, especially that first quarter,” Rossi said. “Our kids are amped up for the tournament and we shared the basketball. That’s the bottom line; we had 18 assists in the first half.”

The second half brought more of the same for the Mohawks as they got each of their 15 players playing time. With under a minute left in the game, Kenzie Oney brought the Madison crowd to its feet by hitting the second of two free throws to put Madison at the century mark, its highest point total of the year.

“Coach was kind of uneasy about it,” said senior Kaylee Bush, who had 11 points. “Our freshman year we almost scored 100 and we thought that would be cool.”

Five players scored in double digits for the Mohawks led by guard Meghan Miller, who scored 20 points. Olivia Philpot added 14 points, five assists, and two blocks.

Though her team struggled, Maria Englert put together an impressive afternoon for Purcell Marian. The sophomore guard scored 29 points and went 15-of-19 from the free-throw line. Though shorter than all of Madison’s starters, Englert played with passion and wasn’t afraid to attack the rim.

“She’s a good player; she finds a way to score the basketball. That’s the first time all year we’ve had somebody score over 25 points against us,” Rossi said.

With their first playoff victory in the books, the Mohawks are well on their way to making a return trip to Columbus. Last year they made it to the state final four, but their strong corps of seniors wants to get back the state championship game, where the title eluded them as freshmen.

“I think definitely as seniors we’ve played together since we were in the third grade and to go far this year would be really cool,” Bush said.

The Mohawks play Dayton Christian on Tuesday night.