A defensive change and return to form on offense shook St. Louis from a sluggish start in the Saints 60-45 win over Jennings Tuesday night in the District 4-3A opener at Burton Coliseum.

The Bulldogs (18-6, 0-1) raced to a 9-4 lead and trailed by a point in the final minute of the first quarter until guard Raven Guillory made a 3-pointer to give St. Louis a little breathing room.

Jennings center Bri Doucet scored seven points in the first quarter and had 10 midway through the first quarter, forcing the Saints (18-3, 0-1) to start double-teaming her in the post. St. Louis closed the first half with six straight points to take a 12-point lead into halftime.

“We had to go to our double-down defense and try to get her to kick it out,” said St. Louis head coach Tony Johnson. “They weren’t hitting too many shots from the outside, and we were able to get some steals.”

All five Saints starters scored multiple baskets and four finished with at least nine points. Myca Trail led the way with 14 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Paris Guillory scored 13 and Raven Guillory added 11.

“Anytime we have four girls scoring it is going to be hard to beat us,” Johnson said. “The scoring is balanced and all of them can score the ball. That is why we’re 18-3.

“We’re just happy to play someone our own size. We’ve been playing 5A and 6A schools, a tough schedule. We were able to go 17-3 so it is a blessing for our kids. Playing those 5As — they have bigs, they have smalls — so we had to do things we normally don’t have to do. Now we can adjust to just about anything.”

Doucet finished with 12 points, 15 rebounds and two blocked shots. Jill Fontenot led the Bulldogs with 19 points, including 15 in the second half. Anne Trahan scored 11.