“We had a slow start, but the girls really battled back,” St. Anthony coach Aaron Rios noted. “I liked the way we competed. They’re (Teutopolis) a tough team, but we kept playing hard.

“You can’t turn the ball over like we did and win basketball games. It can’t be done,” Rios added. “But I thought we executed our halfcourt offense pretty well once we set it up. I thought we got the ball inside and did some nice things. We had some moments we played really well. You just can’t turn the ball over at that level.”

Neither team shot well nor took care of the ball in the third period. The Lady Shoes missed their first five shots and had six miscues before scoring. The Lady Bulldogs didn’t make a field goal the entire quarter, missing all eight attempts, and turned the ball over 10 more times.

Midway through the period, St. Anthony had six free throws – all by Fearday – and T-Town had four. But over the final 3:24, the Lady Shoes went on a 10-0 run to take total control, 51-27, heading into the final quarter.

“Offensively, we really are a work in progress. We’re not smooth yet,” Thompson explained. “I’m happy we took some jump shots tonight and not just layups. We are going to have to be able to score from the outside some. But we’ll get there.”

Fearday finished with a strong double-double performance – 21 points and 10 rebounds.

“Lucy competed her tail off,” Rios said. “She is emerging as one of our leaders. She had a heckuva gave. We just didn’t get much production from anyone else.”

St. Anthony made just 33 percent of its shots, connecting on 12-of-36 attempts. The Lady Bulldogs were 0-for-5 from three-point range and 8-of-13 from the foul line.

“These are the kind of tough games that will help prepare us for where we want to go,” Rios noted. “I’m really optimistic about where we’re headed.”

THS had two players in double figures. In addition to Schumacher’s 20 points, Niebrugge added 10. But the Lady Shoes also got nine points from Zoe Cremens and eight from both Emily Konkel and Izzy Hardiek.

“Kaitlyn can drive and she showed tonight she also has a nice jump shot,” Thompson said. “I liked seeing that. With her length and athleticism, she really creates a mismatch for a lot of teams.”

T-Town made 23-of-53 shots overall, a 43 percent clip. They were 3-for-11 from behind the arc and 13-of-22 from the charity stripe. Niebrugge led the team with six rebounds and the Lady Shoes turned the ball over 15 times.

The Lady Bulldogs dipped to 7-4 on the season. They will return home Thursday night to face cross-town rival Effingham.

The Lady Shoes improved to 6-2. They will play Saturday at Olney.