Tegeler started the 12-0 run to open the second quarter with a short jumper in the lane. Kaylee Niebrugge then drained a three, Lexie Niebrugge did the same and added a pair of free throws and Emily Konkel capped the scoring surge with a bucket to extend T-Town’s lead to 24-4 at the 5:20 mark.

The Lady Shoes made 7-of-10 shots in the second period, including all four attempts from behind the arc. Tegeler and Lexie Niebrugge each had another three, and by intermission, the margin had ballooned to 34-13.

“Grace really looked to score and played a good game,” Thompson said. “Lexie also shot the ball well. She leads us on offense. She’s my only senior and I have a lot of confidence in her. But the other girls aren’t afraid to shoot the ball either, which is a positive sign for us.”

Teutopolis made seven from long range in the opening two quarters, but switched tactics in the second half.

“We shot the ball really well the first half and looked to run the floor,” Thompson noted. “But in the second half, I wanted to get the ball into the lane and work on our jump shots. I thought the girls responded well.”

And the lead just kept expanding. By the end of the third quarter, the THS advantage was 36 points, 53-17. As a result, there was a continuously running clock in the final eight minutes.

“We were also able to work on a few things defensively,” Thompson explained. “We tried face-guarding a little. I don’t have a great defensive stopper, but we’re working on that. Kaitlyn (Schumacher) and Emily (Konkel) are long and athletic and cause problems inside. I thought our defense was better today, but we still have work to do.”

And the veteran coach hopes to use their press soon.

“We could be good at it, but we’re just not ready yet,” Thompson said. “Our foot speed is not great, but we’re long. The press is a work in progress. Hopefully, it will be ready next week.”

T-Town had nine players score in the game, led by Lexie Niebrugge’s 16 points. Tegeler also cracked double figures with 11. Schumacher pulled down a game-high eight rebounds to help the Lady Shoes to a 22-18 advantage on the boards.

THS shot 43 percent overall from the floor, connecting on 16-of-37 shots. They were 9-for-14 from three-point range and 14-of-20 from the free throw line. They had 11 turnovers and forced Mt. Zion into 16. The Lady Braves were ice cold, making just 7-of-39 shots, an 18 percent clip.

The Lady Shoes are 2-0 with both wins coming against Apollo Conference opponents. Due to scheduling difficulties because of COVID, Teutopolis is competing in the conference this year.

“I am so thankful they allowed us to play in the Apollo,” Thompson said. “We would have had a tough time getting games scheduled. It’s going to be a challenging season for us. We’re going to play some good competition.”

The Lady Shoes will play three conference games next week – Monday at Effingham; Thursday at home against Charleston; and Saturday at Mahomet-Seymour.