Malea Helmink hit a jumper and Mollie Ruholl and Kelsey Niemerg then converted SAHS turnovers into layups, trimming the lead to 24-23.

But just when it appeared the Lady Shoes were gaining the momentum, St. Anthony responded. Allie Nuxoll, who played a strong game at both ends of the floor, hit a shot from the post. Addie Lauritzen then scored after grabbing a rebound and Ady Rios, who turned in one of the best – if not her best – game of her career, nailed a three-pointer from the corner, giving the Lady Bulldogs an eight-point advantage, 33-25, at the 4:56 mark of the third period.

Again, T-Town surged back. Helmink had a three-point play, Chloe Probst drilled a three from the top of the key and Niemerg converted another St. Anthony miscue into a score. In just 2½ minutes, the Lady Shoes were once again with a single point, 37-36.

And once again, the Lady Bulldogs refused to fold – and despite the deficit being reduced, they never stopped playing their style of game.

Nancy Ruholl hit a jumper and Rios added a layup following a turnover, sparking an 11-4 run to close the quarter and send the hosts into the final eight minutes with a 48-40 advantage.

“We expected them to come out and play hard. They have a legendary program,” Rios said. “We made some mistakes at the beginning, but then we bounced back and kept attacking. That was the moment we needed to respond. I’m so proud of these girls.”

A third rally by the Lady Shoes never materialized down the stretch. Two minutes into the fourth quarter, it was still an eight-point margin, 52-44. But Nancy Ruholl hit back-to-back shots, including one from behind the arc, and Lauritzen scored again after grabbing an offensive rebound. With 1:52 to play, the Lady Bulldogs had expanded the gap to 59-44, and the ending was inevitable.

Everyone knew the history of losing to Teutopolis was going to come to an end.

“We had our chances to get the game close, but just couldn’t get over the jump,” THS coach Laurie Thompson said. “Another key was rebounding. We gave them multiple chances to score simply because we didn’t get on the boards. And we missed so many shots.”

Which was especially the case in the second period.

The Lady Shoes got four points from both Helmink and Chloe Probst to build an early 10-2 lead. Helmink’s bucket came at the 3:19 mark of the first period. It was the last field goal T-Town made in the first half. Teutopolis missed its final three shots of the opening quarter and then went 0-for-11 in the second period.

“Some of that was just us missing good shots,” Thompson said. “But credit St. Anthony, too. They put a lot of pressure on us.”

In addition to 14 straight missed shots, the Lady Shoes also turned the ball over 10 times.

And St. Anthony seized the opportunity.

After Niemerg made a pair of foul shots to open the second quarter extended the THS lead to 15-6, the rest of the quarter belonged to the Lady Bulldogs.

Rios scored on three straight possessions, two after T-Town turnovers, and Lilly Gannaway hit a free throw to trim the gap to 15-13.

Two more free throws by Niemerg accounted for the final points the Lady Shoes scored. Gannaway then hit a three-pointer, followed by two more from long range by Ruholl. Another jumper by Ruholl made it an 11-0 run to close out the half and sent the Lady Bulldogs to the locker room with a 24-17 advantage.

“Chloe and Mollie were both out of the game due to foul trouble,” Thompson said. “We haven’t been in that situation yet this year and I thought the kids panicked a little. We got loose with the ball and made some silly mistakes. We have to learn how to handle that. They might get in foul trouble again.”

The Lady Shoes ended up shooting 36 percent for the game, connecting on 16-of-44 attempts. In addition to not making any shots in the second period, they were only 2-for-10 in the final period. They finished 2-for-7 from three-point range and 15-for-24 at the foul line.

“When you don’t make shots, you need to stop people on defense and rebound,” Thompson said. “When one thing isn’t working, you have to find other things that will. We didn’t do that tonight.”

Helmink turned in a double-double performance, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Chloe Probst added 14.

“I thought Malea did a nice job tonight,” Thompson said. “She looked to score, played good defense and rebounded. She had an all-around solid game.”

After a slow start, the Lady Bulldogs ended up shooting 51 percent, making 24-of-47 shots. They were 6-for-11 from long range and 8-for-12 from the free throw line.

Rios made 9-of-12 shots, including 4-of-5 from behind the arc, and finished with a game-high 20 points. Ruholl also had a double-double, finishing with 19 points and 10 boards, and Nuxoll added 10 points.

“The scoring we got from Ady (Rios), plus her defense, was huge,” Rios said. “And Addi (Nuxoll) also played very well tonight. She did a very good job against their bigs.”

He also praised the play of Nancy Ruholl.

“Nancy is one of the best players in Class 1A,” Rios emphasized. “She’s our catalyst. She not only scores, she also plays good defense and is an excellent passer.”

The Lady Shoes dipped to 9-2 on the season. They will play Thursday at Newton.

“I’m very disappointed in how we played tonight,” Thompson admitted. “We’re a much better team than this. But give credit where credit is due. They deserved to win this game. They made plays and we didn’t.”

The Lady Bulldogs improved to 10-1. They will face another strong challenge Thursday night when they play at Effingham.

“Tonight, was our best all-around game so far this season,” Rios noted. “Our kids believe in our culture and what we want to do as a team. I know it’s early in the season, but I believe this team is one of the best in the state. We just need to keep working hard. I also believe we can get better.”