That was obvious at the beginning.

T-Town had six early turnovers, resulting in wasted possessions and the opportunity for the Lady Tigers to stay close. A three-pointer by Olney’s Aliyah Flittner and a bucket by Leah Gibson just before the buzzer, made it a 7-7 game after the first eight minutes.

Despite playing poorly, back-to-back baskets by Kelsey Niemerg and Chloe Probst gave the Lady Shoes a 16-15 lead late in the second quarter. But in the final minute, Flittner hit a pair of free throws and then connected from behind the arc with only six seconds left to give Olney a 20-16 edge at intermission.

“Those turnovers set the stage for the entire first half,” Thompson noted. “Everything just multiplied from there. We missed shots and we didn’t rebound. They just out-hustled us. That first half was awful.”

The second half was a different story.

The first thing Thompson did was unleash the full-court pressure. That had an immediate impact. The Lady Tigers turned the ball over seven times in the third quarter and THS took advantage. Chloe Probst hit three free throws and then turned an Olney miscue into a three-pointer, resulting in a 22-22 tie.

“I intentionally waited until the second half to start pressing,” Thompson said. “I was hoping it would generate some turnovers and help our offense get going. It provided the spark we needed. We started rolling in the right direction.”

The second move was bringing Mette into the game.

“I sent her in for rebounding,” Thompson explained. “She created some space for our guards to work. Eva was a spark for us, too. I thought we were able to relax a little and gained some confidence.”

Mette also made an instant impact. She grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to give T-Town the 24-22 lead midway through the third period. The Lady Shoes never trailed again.

Chloe Probst converted a turnover into a basket, followed by a three from Mollie Ruholl. After a foul shot by Olney’s Olivia Lemke, Mollie Ruholl turned yet another Lady Tigers miscue into a three-point play. Niemerg then hit two foul shots and Mette ended the quarter by grabbing a rebound and scoring with just three seconds left.

That culminated an 11-1 run over the final 3½ minutes and gave the Lady Shoes a 35-24 advantage heading into the fourth period.

After Olney’s Kaiya Seessengood opened the quarter with a short jumper, THS responded with an 8-0 run. Mollie Ruholl knocked down a shot from long range, Niemerg turned in a three-point play and Allie Ruholl made a pair of free throws to give the Lady Shoes their biggest lead of the game, 43-26, at the 4:06 mark.

The gap was never less than 12 the rest of the way.

Another key to the second half surge was the defensive effort of Mollie Ruholl. She was assigned to guard Flittner, after Olney’s freshman guard scored 11 points in the opening half.

“Mollie face-guarded her,” Thompson said. “I think Mollie got in her head and took her out of her rhythm. Flittner only scored two points in the third period and didn’t score any in the fourth. Kudos to Mollie. She did a good job.”

Neither team shot well. The Lady Shoes connected on 16-of-44 overall shots, a 36 percent clip. They were 3-for-8 from three-point range. The Lady Tigers struggled even more, making just 13-of-44 shots, a cool 29 percent effort. They were 3-for-10 from behind the arc.

Chloe Probst had a game-high 16 points to lead the Lady Shoes, while Mollie Ruholl added 10. Probst also pulled down nine rebounds and Mette grabbed seven. Teutopolis finished with 18 turnovers; Olney 17.

“I was much more pleased with how we played in the second half,” Thompson said. “We played like we’re capable of playing. I was proud of that.”

The Lady Shoes improved to 7-1. They will play again at home Monday night against Pana.