“I have nothing but respect for their (Neoga) program,” said St. Anthony coach Aaron Rios. “They got the best of us twice last year – in the National Trail Conference Tournament and then in the sectional. That’s a very, very good basketball team. But we played awfully well tonight.”

What an understatement.

The Lady Bulldogs were awesome in just about every phase of the game.

It all started with their full-court pressure defense that caused the Lady Indians problems the entire game, forcing 24 turnovers. Several of those were converted into easy baskets.

And when St. Anthony ran its offense, the shooting was phenomenal. They shot over 70 percent for the first three quarters.

And then there was the new school record that was set. When senior Lucy Fearday hit a jump shot midway through the fourth period, she became the all-time leading girls scorer in school history, surpassing the mark set by Jaclyn Jansen in 2008. Jansen finished her career with 1,453 points. Fearday is now at 1,456.

“We didn’t expect this kind of final score,” Rios noted. “But our girls believed they could win. These kids believe in our program. They play as hard as they can and they just keep getting better.”

Essentially, the game was over after the first three minutes. Anna Faber had six quick points and Stacie Vonderheide and Nancy Ruholl both added jumpers, as the Lady Bulldogs streaked to a 10-0 lead at the 5:06 mark. By the end of the first eight minutes, the hosts owned a 24-10 advantage.

Fearday turned in a three-point play and added another bucket to expand the margin to 19 points in the first 37 seconds of the second quarter. After Faber turned a turnover in a bucket and Vonderheide hit another shot, that lead ballooned to 22 points, 35-13.

By halftime, the Lady Bulldogs had forced Neoga into 10 turnovers and held a commanding 18-point edge, 42-24.

“Our game plan was to keep the ball out of No. 25’s (Sydney Richards) hands,” Rios said. “She’s a very good player.

“And we wanted to pressure them,” the SAHS coach added. “Ever since the Effingham game, I’ve been saying we need to step up and play better on the defensive end. Our defense dictates what we can do on offense. We were very good tonight, but we still have work to do.”

If Neoga entertained any thoughts of a second-half comeback, those were dashed quickly. The Lady Bulldogs started the third quarter on another 10-0 run and then closed with a 12-1 scoring surge. During that eight minutes, SAHS forced 10 more turnovers, made 14-of-18 shots and outscored the Lady Indians 30-6 to make it a whopping 42-point spread, 72-30.

The mercy rule kicked in for the fourth quarter, resulting in a continuously running clock.

“We knew we would need to adapt during the game,” Rios noted. “Neoga will play a matching zone and then switch to a man-to-man. But the girls made the adjustments needed, got to the basket and made shots. I’m very proud of these girls. This was a big win for us.”

Neoga entered the game ranked No. 6 in the Class 1A poll. The Lady Indians dropped to 19-3 overall and 5-1 in the National Trail Conference. Richards was the only Neoga player to reach double figures, finishing with 18 points.

The Lady Indians shot 32 percent from the floor, making 13-of-41 attempts. They were 3-for-12 from behind the arc and 8-for-19 at the line.

The Lady Bulldogs had four players in double figures. Fearday and Vonderheide both scored 22 points, while Faber had 16 and Ruholl added 10. They knocked down 34-of-50 shots overall, a torrid 68 percent clip. They were 5-for-10 from three-point range and 4-for-7 from the line. They held a 28-17 rebounding edge and turned the ball over 15 times.

St. Anthony is currently ranked No. 8 in Class 1A. The Lady Bulldogs improved to 17-4 on the season and are now on top of the NTC standings with a 5-0 mark.

Next up is the National Trail Conference Tournament, which begins Monday at Beecher City High School. The Lady Bulldogs will enter as the No. 2 seed behind Neoga. They will play No. 7 seed Dieterich at 11:30 a.m. Monday.