After Marion scored on consecutive trips, the Lady Shoes went back to work. Chloe Probst scored seven points and Ruholl added three more as THS closed the quarter on a 10-2 surge the made it a 15-point spread, 44-29, heading into the final eight minutes.

“I was very pleased with Mollie,” Thompson noted. “She understood what I wanted. She stayed aggressive and took the ball to the basket. I thought Mollie did a good job.”

Even though the coach said her team’s full-court press is still a “work in progress,” it certainly made a difference. T-Town forced the Lady Wildcats into 27 turnovers.

“The press is coming along,” Thompson said. “It’s not great yet, but we’re learning. We’ve got to do a better job transitioning from the press into our halfcourt defense. We’re not finding or staying with people very good. We gave up some easy baskets. But we still forced a lot of turnovers.”

The game was close in the first half. THS trailed 10-9 with two minutes left in the opening period. But Helmink hit a jumper and Chloe Probst scored five straight points, including a three, to put T-Town on top, 16-10. It never trailed again.

Marion got within 16-15 when Kaitlyn Reuss hit a long three at the buzzer, but a basket by Helmink and another by Anna Probst to open the second period made it a five-point margin. A driving basket by Ruholl gave the Lady Shoes the three-point edge at intermission.

Chloe Probst finished with a game-high 18 points to pace Teutopolis. Ruholl was also in double figures, finishing with 12. Isabelle Zerrusen and Helmink led the team in rebounding, pulling down seven and six respectively. The Lady Shoes turned the ball over 13 times.

The Lady Shoes improved to 9-3, while Marion dropped to 3-11. T-Town was scheduled to play Galesburg later Thursday afternoon. They will also play two games on Friday.