CHAPEL HILL - The old saw about age and experience getting the better of youthful energy and enthusiasm never seem truer than in Chapel Hill High School's 57-22 win over archrival East Chapel Hill in girls basketball on Friday.

CHHS lost just three players off last year's team, while East's 10-player roster has just one player with any previous experience at the varsity level.

Playing on their home court in this year's first installment of the annual home-and-away rivalry, the Tigers (3-0) blew past the youthful Wildcats (1-1) Friday night and won by the biggest margin by either team since East moved up to the 4A classification.

"East is always the big rivalry for us, and it's always a big game," Chapel Hill Catherine Romaine said. "All the fans come to the game. There's pressure on us to pull out a win, and I'm glad we did."

The self-imposed pressure to perform all but evaporated in the opening 11 minutes. Romaine scored six of Chapel Hill's first 10 points and helped CHHS build a 12-2 first-quarter lead. She scored six straight in a second 8-0 run that made it a 22-3 lead with 5:47 to play in the second quarter.

Romaine's 12 first-half points led CHHS to a 29-8 lead by the break. Until the game's last 5:42, the 6-1 sophomore had personally outscored and out-rebounded the Wildcats. She ended up with game highs of 16 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots.

"Catherine Romaine was just unbelievable in the first half," CHHS coach Sherry Norris said.

Lila Scott added 15 points for CHHS, nine coming off three 3-pointers in the second half. Chapel Hill also got a good all-around game from Jamella Smith, who grabbed six rebounds and four steals.

Audrey Larson and Tamia Eatman each had five rebounds as the Tigers dominated the boards. East only got five offensive boards and had zero second-chance points.

Ten different Tigers scored at least one basket, and seven of the 10 Wildcats scored. Adrienne Davis was high-scorer for East with seven points.

Outscored 12-4 in the third period and down 41-12 heading into the fourth, the 'Cats forced six turnovers in the closing minutes and did their best scoring as both teams continued to substitute freely.

"I'm glad we came back like that. It could have been 100-12," East coach Michelle Wood said. "I was proud of the way our players stepped up to the challenge to come out more aggressively in the second half."

Elsewhere in girls basketball Friday, Carrboro fell 57-42 at Cardinal Gibbons, despite a game-high 18 points from the Jaguars' Diamond Tyson.