Fairfield’s zone created challenges for the Lady Shoes throughout the game.

“We weren’t attacking,” Thompson noted. “Somehow the girls have it in their heads they have to drive to the basket for everything rather than taking the shots you can get against the zone. We might have taken seven or eight good shots the entire game. They need to take the good jump shots they get.

“When we were finally patient, Zoe got open and knocked down those shots,” the veteran coach added. “Patience is not our strong point. Thankfully, Zoe took care of us tonight.”

Kaitlyn Schumacher scored seven points in the opening period and Emily Konkel heaved one in from near mid-court at the buzzer, staking the Lady Shoes to a 15-6 lead.

The lead fluctuated between six and nine points throughout the second period. Kaylee Niebrugge connected on a three and made four free throws and Izzy Hardiek also knocked down a three, but Fairfield’s talented sophomore Rylee Edwards tallied seven points to keep the Lady Mules within striking distance.

THS owned a 27-20 cushion at intermission.

Baskets by Hardiek and Konkel made it 31-22 two minutes into the second half, but that’s when Fairfield began its comeback. Edwards had a three-point play plus two more baskets and Kenzie Vaughan hit a three to spark the 12-0 scoring spree that put the guests on top, 34-31.

But Cremens then began her heroics and put the Lady Shoes on top to stay, 37-36, heading into the final period.

The Lady Mules, who entered the game with an impressive 24-3 record, kept the game close in the fourth quarter. A pair of baskets by Destiny Hooker had Fairfield within 44-40.

The final three by Cremens and three points by Niebrugge helped the Lady Shoes open a nine-point bulge, 50-41, but Val Dagg made a three and Edwards hit a free throw to get the Lady Mules with 50-45. But Niebrugge and Cremens both made a pair of free throws in the final 18 seconds to seal the win.

“Fairfield was very aggressive in getting to the rim, but I thought it was important that we stay in our man-to-man,” Thompson explained. “That’s something we’re going to need in the postseason. They move very well without the ball, plus we caught watching a few times. When you stand and watch, you get hurt on defense and that’s what happened to us. We’ve got to be better.”

Cremens finished with 14 points to lead the THS scoring attack. Niebrugge and Konkel also cracked double figures, finishing with 12 and 10 points respectively. The Lady Shoes shot 43 percent from the floor, connecting on 18-of-42 attempts. They were 7-for-14 from three-point range and 11-for-18 at the foul line.

Edwards led all scorers with 19 points.

“I thought there were two big positives from this game,” Thompson said. “One was the Zoe train. Thank goodness she knocked down those shots.

“The other was the leadership we got from Emily Konkel,” Thompson added. “We haven’t had a lot of that from anybody this year. I really liked seeing that and I hope it carries over.”

The Lady Shoes improved to 19-7 overall. They will now enter the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the Class 2A Salem Regional. They will play at 6 p.m. Monday and face either Salem or Carmi.