CHOCOWINITY — Michaela Dixon opened the scoring with a 3-pointer just 20 seconds in. Then Symone Ruffin knocked down one of her own.

Thanks to its two seniors, Southside was off to a hot start en route to a 57-21 win over South Creek — the third victory over the Lady Cougars this season — on senior night.

“It’s just easy because we’re used to playing with each other. When we start shooting 3s, it’s easy,” Ruffin said of the poetic start.

The Lady Seahawks had built an 8-0 lead before long. Dixon notched her second long-range basket of the game, and sophomore Shantel Cannon wrapped up the opening period with a pair of quick layups to push the advantage to 21-4 after eight minutes.

The early goings didn’t come without their drama. Ruffin took a nasty bump pressing for a turnover near midcourt. She went to the bench, but wasn’t out of the game for long. South Creek had the first bucket of the second, but Ruffin and Dixon followed up with another set of back-to-back treys.

“It’s been great to see how they’ve developed over time,” coach Milton Ruffin said. “They understand the game and go out there and play together. It’s something to watch.”

The visitors finished the first half with consecutive baskets, but Southside still led, 30-11. The Lady Seahawks only tightened their grip coming out of halftime. They used fluid ball movement to get freshman Laquisha Woolard open looks early on.

Ruffin took over from there. She scored nine unanswered points on her own.

Freshman Tyaunna Trye capped off the run with a layup, and Southside pushed its lead to 48-13 heading into the fourth.

Dixon had one more make from long range and a fancy layup before she and Ruffin checked out with about two minutes left. The Southside fans gave the senior duo a standing ovation.

Both Dixon and Ruffin said that, even though they don’t like going out of games, they were touched by the applause.

“It’s a good feeling that the fans appreciate what they’ve done for the school,” Ruffin said.

Missing from the final home game of the regular season was senior Danielle Ruffin. The senior captain been out injured since the non-conference portion of the season.

“I feel sorry for her because she’s been a big part of us,” Ruffin said.