Photo by Samantha Davis: Marshall's Maddie Panka drives the baseline and scores in the first half against Tri-City United Saturday afternoon in a prep girls Big South Conference basketball game. The Tigers defeated the Titans 98-29.

MARSHALL — Defense turning to offense was the name of the game as the fourth-ranked Marshall girls basketball team bounced back and cruised to a 98-29 Big South Conference win Saturday afternoon against Tri-City United. The Tigers limited the Titans to just 16 first-half points while on the way to a 49-point halftime lead and flew the rest of the way.

“Yesterday [in a loss to Brandon Valley on Friday], we got off to a really slow start. So today, being able to get a fast start and going in right away was definitely more beneficial for us,” Marshall junior Danielle Nubile said. “On our defense, we always work well together.”

Everyone got involved on the offense throughout the game, with 11 different players getting on the scoreboard.

Avery Schneekloth led the way with 16 points along with three steals, while Avery Fahl followed with 14 points behind a team-high four 3-pointers. Maddie Panka and Nubile added another 13 points apiece, with Nubile making a statement on defense with team-highs of six rebounds and five steals.

Marshall started the game off with three consecutive steals off its full-court press that TCU struggled to find answers to throughout the entire first half. Speficially, the Tigers made a habit to trap the Titans in the press off the inbound pass, and forced several out-of-bounds calls or turnovers.

The Tigers played a clean game committing just nine turnovers while forcing 29 on the Titans, and also took control behind their 24 steals.

“We just talk to each other with helping [on defense],” Nubile said of Marshall’s defensive effort. “If someone helps over, we’re talking to someone to drop down and cover.”

Marshall took a prompt 7-0 lead in the first 40 seconds of the game with a pair of Schneekloth buckets down low and a Taleigha Bigler 3-pointer following steals off the press.

Bigler also finished the night with a team-high eight assists along with 7 points.

A 3 from Reese Drake, following with a steal from Schneekloth who passed it to a cutting Nubile on the opposite side of the paint, gave Marshall a quick double-digit lead, 13-3, in the game’s first two minutes.

Drake finished with 12 points, four rebounds and two steals as well.

Fahl caught the hot hand from the corner and embarked on a 9-0 run herself with a trio of back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Tigers a 22-7 edge.

Drake and Bryn Webb each drilled in another 3-pointer over the next few minutes, along with layups from Schneekloth, Nubile and Panka to continue Marshall on a 20-0 run for a 42-7 advantage with just over five minutes remaining in the first half.

Marshall ultimately continued to run the ball and put emphasis on attacking the paint, and took care of business the rest of the night with everyone off the bench getting good playing time and making contributions on both ends of the court. The Tigers also forced a running clock.

“It’s so fun, especially for our freshman,” Nubile said of the team’s depth on offense in the win. “It’s just so exciting watching them play … In practice, we do a lot of shooting. It’s good when that [translates] into the games.”

Drake and Schneekloth led Marshall with 12 points in the first half, while Fahl followed with 11.

The Tigers finished the night shooting 55% from the field and 50% from deep, going 12 of 24. TCU was held to just 20% field-goal shooting.

Webb, Drake and Nubile all shot 2 of 3 from the perimeter as well.

Marshall went into Saturday looking to find a quick response after dropping its fourth game of the season Friday night to top-ranked Brandon Valley out of South Dakota by a point, 69-68.

The Tigers faced a 37-30 deficit at halftime, and couldn’t quite come out on top after shooting 43% from the field to Brandon Valley’s 57% shooting mark.

“We just need to get off to a better start,” Nubile said regarding what the team took away from the competition to Brandon Valley. “Our slow start, I feel like that really ruined us at the start. But, we did fight and we got back to leading, but [it wasn’t enough].”

Marshall (20-4) has two games remaining in the regular season before section play begins. The Tigers will next travel to Class 2A No. 9 Fairmont on Tuesday at 7 p.m. before heading to Tea Area, S.D. (10-6), on Thursday with a 7 p.m. tip off.

Nubile said that the team will have the mindset going into the final regular-season stretch of playing like they did on Saturday against TCU with taking control and setting the tone early.