Meridian girls basketball cruised past Culpeper County on Friday night in the Region 3B quarterfinals on Friday night, 75-21, advancing to the semifinals on Tuesday. 

The Mustangs (20-1) dominated on defense from the start, scoring 15 points before Culpeper (5-15) got on the board. They led 53-8 at halftime and never looked back, triggering a running clock in the second half.

Culpeper never scored more than 7 points in a single quarter, and their leading scorer only had 9 points. Meridian, on the other hand, had four players with more than that.

Junior Elizabeth Creed led Meridian with 22 points, closely followed by junior Peyton Jones with 18 points, senior Zorida Icabalceta with 12, and senior Bella Paradiso with 10. Nine Mustangs scored over the course of the game.

Given the blowout, Mustang players had reason to be jovial after the victory, with multiple players attributing the win to their matching Hello Kitty headphones.

“Ball all day, ball all night, ball all day,” Paradiso added, laughing.

Meridian will play Skyline in the Region 3B Semifinals on Tue, Feb. 22 at home. They previously played Skyline twice this season, on Jan. 25 and Feb.11, winning 62-23 and 72-25, respectively.