The Palo Alto High School girls’ basketball team (8-9, 4-2) was overwhelmed, 44-26, by cross-town rival Gunn High School (11-2, 4-2) on Friday’s Quad Night.

Paly never had the lead as Gunn got out to a fast start. Hot three-point shooting helped propel the Titans to a 25-13 halftime lead.

The Titans never looked back as they continued their strong play in the second half. Gunn extended its lead to as much as 21 in the fourth quarter after yet another flurry of three-pointers.

The Vikings struggled offensively all night as they were hounded by Gunn’s pestering defense. Frustration boiled over for the Vikings in the fourth quarter when senior Annie Susco was charged with a technical foul after slamming the ball on the ground.

The Vikings, typically a good three-point shooting team, were also off the mark from deep as they shot only 2-15 from three-point range. Freshman guard Maddy Atwater was Paly’s leading scorer with only seven points.

“We didn’t come out as hard as we should have and we let Gunn control the game,” Atwater said. “Once they hit a big shot we went downhill from there… we just didn’t play our game. Next time we’ll get them.”

The Vikings’ first home loss dropped them to 8-9 on the season and 4-2 in the SCVAL De Anza League standings. Meanwhile, Gunn’s victory pushed the Titans into a tie with Paly for third place in conference play as they improved to 4-2.

The Vikings’ next game is at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Saratoga High School. The cellar-dwelling Falcons are currently in last place in De Anza League with a 1-6 conference record.