Baldwin ? While basketball teams can get rusty during the holiday break, Baldwin High’s girls must have been restless.

After pasting Ottawa in their second-half opener Friday, the Bulldogs followed up with another strong performance in a 56-43 victory Tuesday over Paola at BHS.

“It all comes back to execution,” BHS coach Eric Toot said. “We had a few ugly practices in there to be sure, but the girls have really come out and put their two best games together.”

Much like Baldwin (6-1) did against Ottawa, BHS jumped on Paola early Tuesday, bolting to a 17-6 advantage.

But the shots that fell so easily during the first eight minutes missed during the second and third quarters, and Paola tied the score at 32 on Rachel Hubacek’s fade-away jump shot with 3:33 to go in the third.

Baldwin didn’t seem too concerned.

Or, as Emily Brown said after the game: “I didn’t even know they tied it.”

The tie didn’t last long.

Brown scored six quick points, and Anna Gillispie came off the bench and added two steals and four straight free throws. Kari Garrison capped the Bulldogs’ 13-0 run with a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Baldwin a 45-32 advantage.

Baldwin High's Katie Harris, left, fends off Paola's Krystal Bledsoe during the first half of the Bulldogs' 56-43 victory. Baldwin swept Paola Tuesday at Baldwin High.

“We just decided to all get going,” Garrison’s said of the team’s quick scoring burst. “Right now, when we’re executing, we’re really getting the job done. And at that time we were really executing.”

While Baldwin’s girls seemed to get a lot better during the break, Baldwin’s boys needed just the weekend.

After a lopsided loss Friday to Ottawa, the Bulldogs corrected their ball-control mistakes and defeated Paola, 57-47, behind a total team effort.

Unlike the two squads’ meeting at the start of the season — which Paola won despite a 12-2 run by Baldwin in the final minute — Tuesday’s contest was nip-and-tuck until the waning seconds of the third quarter, when Baldwin broke a 36-all tie with back-to-back baskets.

Baldwin High's Brad Ikenberrry, right, keeps the ball away from Paola's Anthony Onofrio during the first half of the Bulldogs' 57-47 victory. Baldwin's girls also won Tuesday at BHS.

Baldwin (3-5) controlled the boards and didn’t commit the silly turnovers like it did against Ottawa, but the biggest thing might have been slowing Paola early. PHS bolted to an 8-0 lead in the last meeting.

“I don’t know if there was one difference,” Baldwin coach Jeff Haas said before quickly correcting himself. “Yeah, actually, I guess not allowing them to get out to a quick start was the biggest thing. Tonight we defended their shots and played solid the entire game.”