From that point on, the game followed a repeating pattern. The Lady Shoes would build a lead and the Lady Eagles would come back.

The first 90 seconds of the second period was a perfect example. Chloe Probst hit a jumper and Anna Probst followed with a pair of foul shots and a three-pointer. That actually capped a 16-0 run that began in the first period and gave T-Town a 22-13 lead.

Newton immediately cut it to four. Then Chloe Probst and Mollie Ruholl scored to make it an eight-point margin, 26-18, followed by a 9-2 surge by the Lady Eagles to trim it to a single point, 28-27.

But Chloe Probst connected on a three and then another jumper to send the Lady Shoes to the locker room with a 33-27 advantage at intermission.

“We were hitting shots, which is always a good sign for us,” Thompson said. “But we missed several assignments on defense and we turned the ball over too many times.”

After Newton scored to open the second half, Anna Probst hit two jumpers and then a three-pointer to cap an 11-2 surge that expanded the Teutopolis lead to double digits, 44-31, at the 2:41 mark.

But, again, the Lady Eagles refused to go away. They began pressing full court and produced some immediate results. The Lady Shoes turned the ball over four times in the final 90 seconds and Newton took advantage. Camryn Martin scored on back-to-back possessions and then Karasyn Martin added two more buckets, helping Newton close to within 46-39 heading into the final eight minutes.

“We panicked a couple times when they pressed,” Thompson noted. “I knew they would press. I actually thought they might press earlier. They are quick and they move well. And when you don’t use a pass fake, you can get in trouble. We found that out.”

Any chance of a full comeback by the Lady Eagles, however, was pretty much dashed quickly.

Ruholl and Chloe Probst hit a pair of shots from long range, increasing the THS lead to 52-39, just 48 seconds into the fourth quarter. After Izzy Meinhart made a three for Newton, Anna Probst responded with a drive to the basket that resulted in a three-point play to regain the 13-point spread.

Meinhart then connected on another three for the Lady Eagles, but T-Town responded with six straight points. Niemerg hit a jumper, Malea Helmink scored on a putback and Ruholl added a basket to give the Lady Shoes their largest lead of the game, 61-45, with 3:11 to play.

Teutopolis added just three more free throws the rest of the way, but the Lady Eagles were unable to get closer than seven points down the stretch.

The Martin’s led Newton in scoring – Karasyn finished with a game-high 23 points and Camryn added 13.

“We tried to keep them under control,” Thompson said. “We played a sagging man-to-man, but had some miscommunications and left them wide open a few times. So, they got their points. They’re good players.”

The Lady Eagles shot 46 percent overall, making 21-of-46 attempts. They were 7-for-12 from long range and 7-of-8 at the foul line.

T-Town featured a balanced scoring attack. Chloe Probst and Anna Probst were both in double figures, netting 19 and 15 points respectively. In addition, Ruholl scored nine, Helmink eight, Niemerg seven and Gaddis six.

“We have girls that can score, and when they do, it takes a lot of pressure off Chloe,” Thompson explained. “It was nice seeing Anna and the others put up points tonight. When we’re making shots, we’re a different team.”

The Lady Shoes made 20-of-41 shots, a 49 percent clip. They were 8-for-18 from three-point range and 16-for-20 at the line. They turned the ball over 18 times, but held a commanding 25-14 rebounding edge, with Helmink pulling down a game-high 12.

Teutopolis is now 25-8 for the season.

You know the old saying – it’s hard to beat the same team three times in a season?

Well, the Lady Shoes are going to find out.

They will now advance to the Paris Sectional and face the host Lady Tigers. That game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

T-Town won, 50-37, at Paris the first week of the season in November and added a 57-41 win at home in January.

But the Lady Tigers are 24-7 and riding an eight-game winning streak, including a 45-36 decision over Monticello in the championship game of the Macon (Meridian) Regional.

Also advancing to the Paris Sectional are Mt. Carmel, winners of the McLeansboro Regional, and Sullivan, who captured the Maroa-Forsyth Regional. Those two teams will square off at 6 p.m. Tuesday

“It’s never easy to play a team for the third time,” Thompson said. “But we’re just taking things one game at a time. It’s going to be a tough sectional to win, but I believe we can do it.”