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The tone for Game 9 of the Naples Daily News Holiday Shootout was set early, as Erie (Pa.) Central senior Maniqua Williams scored eight of her team's first 12 points on three inside buckets and a pair of free throws.

Everything else in the Central offense began to open up. Even though Williams registered just eight more points the rest of the way, the Lady Falcons cruised by South Fort Myers, 45-33, in the first consolation game of the eight-year-old tournament.

But rewind even further, beyond the hot start by Williams. The turning point, in reality, came several hours before the Lady Falcons rolled out of bed for Saturday's 9 a.m. tip-off.

It happened after their first game of the weekend, a 47-34 blowout at the hands of Community School. That's when Central coach Nick Desantis sent a message to his players, who were prepared to be blasted in the wake of the shocking loss.

They weren't.

"They're old enough to understand they didn't do well," Desantis said Saturday morning, after the Lady Falcons moved within two wins of a seventh-place finish. "About the only thing I told them is I hope they learned something."

Evidently, they did.

Central climbed on top of South by six points in the first five minutes and never looked back, surging by a Wolfpack squad that continued to miss the mark on offense.

Saturday was, for South, a familiar outcome. The Wolfpack were beaten by another bunch of Lady Falcons -- Our Lady of Good Counsel, from Wheaton, Md. -- in their Shootout debut, a 35-25 decision on Friday morning.

Again, South couldn't buy a bucket. The Wolfpack made only nine field goals, with Lindsay Simmons (14 points) the lone player in double figures.

Central, meanwhile, looked a completely different outfit, bouncing back after scoring just six points in the first half of the CSN loss.

Credit Williams, who reached that total by herself in the first five minutes of Saturday's win. She dominated South's post players from the opening tip, a performance that forced the Wolfpack to focus their defense on the 5-foot-10 forward.

The result?

Consider a single sequence early in the second quarter. As Central worked the ball around the perimeter, Desantis screamed from the sideline, "Give it to her! Give it to her!"

Eventually, the Lady Falcons did. But when the defense collapsed on Williams in the paint, she dished to Nora Tretter for an open lay-up.

That epitomized Central's play for much of the game. With Williams absorbing defenders, six of the Central star's teammates delivered at least one field goal.

"We knew they'd be in a zone," Desantis said, "so we had to have some shooters on the floor."

Desantis adjusted his lineup accordingly. The biggest adjustment, however, is one he didn't have to make. The Lady Falcons demanded it of themselves.

"A team gets embarrassed," said South coach Bob Batson, who scouted Central's opener, "sometimes you don't want to be their next game."

Erie (Pa.) Central 45

South Fort Myers 33

Erie (45)

Jagodzinski 2 0-0 6, Brickner 3 3-5 9, Donajkowski 0 0-0 0, Schultz 1 0-0 2, Zielinski 1 0-0 2, Wagner 0 0-0 0, Crawford 0 0-0 0, Tretter 2 2-2 7, Fabrizio 1 0-0 2, Olson 0 1-2 1, Williams 6 4-6 16. Totals: 16 10-13 45.

South (33)

Harris 0 0-0 0, Kissinger 1 0-4 2, Cattanach 0 5-6 5, Fullilove 2 0-3 4, Simmons 4 4-6 14, Wagner 1 0-0 2, Talford 0 2-2 2, Sharp 1 0-0 2, Webb 0 0-0 0, Ragan 0 0-0 0. Totals: 9 11-21 33.

Erie 18 12 6 9 -45

South 12 8 5 8 -33

Three-pointers: Erie 3 (Jagodzinski 2, Tretter), South 2 (Simmons 2); Team Fouls: Erie 17, South 13; Fouled out: none; Technicals: none.