ST. AUGUSTINE — Brandon Stewart has hit a coaching rarity. He doesn’t think he can ask his Mainland Buccaneers to play any better than they currently are.

“Some of these games are becoming, in my mind, kind of flawless in a way,” Stewart said. “They’re playing really well. And I’m excited because it’s the right time.”

Mainland wrapped up its third straight District 4-5A championship Friday with a 70-41 victory over Deltona at St. Augustine High School.

The Bucs raced to the contest’s first seven points, including four by junior Olivia Olson, and never trailed. By the end of the first quarter, they possessed a 23-5 advantage.

“Right now, we’ve been focusing on getting the ball out of our hands,” said senior point guard Tia Dobson, who finished with eight points. “Moving it, not being selfish. The transition game is what we’re trying to turn into right now. I feel like we did that very well tonight.”

Their fast-paced dominance continued in the second quarter. Spurred by 12 points from senior Anovia Sheals, Mainland outscored the Wolves 17-6 in the period.

The halftime score: 40-11.

Deltona did spark a run with the last basket of the first half. Freshman Iniya Reddicks made a shot with 10 seconds left in the second quarter. Then, the Wolves stormed out of the locker room and completed a 13-5 stretch during the first three minutes of the third quarter.

“We started slow,” Deltona coach Hjalmar Suarez said. “We’re a second-half team, and we always told the girls it was going to bite us in the butt if we don’t get it together.

“And you see what the difference was in the second half. We came in, in the first half. I don’t if we were scared or nervous or whatever. I knew, in the second half, we were going to make a run. But we needed to start better.”

Mainland squashed the Wolves’ first run with an 11-5 answer late in the third quarter and into the early parts of the fourth.

“Every team is beatable,” Dobson said. “You have to keep that mindset. Basketball is a game of runs. Obviously, they went on a run. It’s how you contain that run. And if you don’t contain it, then you can be beat. So, it’s like, you never feel like you’re invincible on the court.”

Deltona then rattled off seven straight points — mostly against Bucs backups. Overall, the teams tied with 30 points apiece in the second half. Mainland’s lead, built up by the gigantic first half, simply loomed too large.

Only the Bucs’ starters scored. Sheals put up a game-high 24 points. Olson had 16. Junior Samantha Lecas tallied 13, and junior Jade Parks had nine.

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Reddicks and senior Calise Chishom paced the Wolves with 11 and 10 points, respectively. They closed their season with a 17-7 record.

Now riding a four-game win streak, Mainland (14-12) booked an automatic trip to the regional playoffs. It learns its first-round opponent Saturday afternoon.

If his team is hiking toward flawless, what can Stewart preach before regionals?

“The little things still,” he said. “Boxing out, rebounding, getting back on defense, talking on defense, making the extra pass. Those things that can always be tuned up.”

Spruce Creek 70, Lake Mary 44

For the second consecutive year, the top-seeded Hawks blew past No. 2 Lake Mary in the District 2-7A finals to clinch the title and an automatic berth to the regional tournament.

The win came on Lake Mary’s home court. Spruce Creek now holds an 18-8 record and a three-game win streak.

New Smyrna Beach 45, Lake Howell 37

In their first year under coach Aisha Patrick, the Barracudas became District 5-6A champs. They defeated Lake Howell on its own court to secure their first regional tournament appearance since 2017.

New Smyrna Beach has captured four games in a row to boost its record to 14-6.

Master’s Academy 52, Father Lopez 39

In the District 4-3A title game, No. 1 Master’s Academy held off No. 2 Father Lopez (14-12). Sage Smith led the Eagles with 13 points.

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Mount Dora Christian 63, Calvary Christian 27

No. 2 Calvary Christian (14-12) fell into a 10-point hole in the first quarter, allowing top-seeded Mount Dora Christian to pull away in the District 6-2A finals.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Girls basketball: Mainland, Spruce Creek, NSB emerge district champs