Photo by Samantha Davis: Marshall junior Avery Schneekloth begins to go up for a shot after driving the lane in the first half against Belle Plaine Tuesday night in a Big South conference prep girls basketball game. Marshall defeated Belle Plaine 83-37.

MARSHALL — Avery Schneekloth’s hot start of 23 first-half points sparked the No. 4 Marshall girls basketball team to a 41-point halftime lead while on the way to an 83-37 Big South Conference win over Belle Plaine Tuesday night in a battle of the Tigers.

“That was really fun. I felt like a lot of energy was there [in the first half]. Just like the whole thing with being on a selfless team, I think that really helps us a lot, and that’s what makes this team so fun,” Schneekloth said. “We’re just not selfish people, and we just love supporting each other.”

Both Schneekloth and Reese Drake outscored Belle Plaine themselves individually in the first half with 23 and 16 points, respectively, with Marshall building a 53-12 lead at the break.

Marshall kept much of the same pace and tempo going on both ends of the floor to fly throughout the second half to cruise away for the win.

Schneekloth led the way with 26 points on 71% shooting, going 12 of 17 from the field along with a team-high nine rebounds. Drake finished with a double-double of 18 points with a team-best 10 assists and four steals, while Avery Fahl shot 3 for 3 from deep for 9 points. Bigler and Sydney Town also added another 8 points each, along with Bigler’s seven assists.

Marshall forced 23 turnovers on Belle Plaine while protecting the ball well, giving up just eight.

Schneekloth had Marshall’s first 8 points of the night, and 12 of the first 14, all coming from inside the paint between cleaning up offensive boards or being found as a cutter.

“It’s also our passing, too [along with our cutting]. We’re a very passive team, we’re definitely not a selfish team,” Schneekloth said. “Translating defense to offense is also really kind of our thing, and that worked out in our favor. I feel like we have a lot of good passes, and definitely good passers.”

Marshall won the tip off as Drake got the ball for an immediate pass to Scheekloth down low to get the scoring started.

Taleigha Bigler took the ball on a drive toward the basket on Marshall’s next possession for a pass out to Schneekloth on the opposite side of the lane to finish the play, as Drake again found Schneekloth on a fastbreak directly after.

As much as Marshall’s full-court press continues to be troublesome for opponents, including Belle Plaine, its defensive effort in interrupting passing lanes also shined that resulted in numerous turnovers as well.

“We work on that in practice a lot [disrupting passes] … We just love doing that,” Schneekloth said. “JV does a really good job with us in practice. [Credit] to them and everything to them, because our press wouldn’t be as good if it wasn’t for them. I feel like it’s just all a team effort.”

Marshall got off to a dominating 19-0 start before Belle Plaine got on the board with a layup, while additional baskets from Drake and Schneekloth added to Marshall’s opening run.

Fahl also got in on the scoring action with back-to-back 3-pointers from the same spot in the left corner to add to a 22-2 lead.

A transition 3 from Madilyn Panka and two consecutive steals that led to layups for Drake and Schneekloth continued Marshall on its first-half surge.

Continuing its efficient perimeter shooting, a 3-pointer moments later from Drake as the half neared an end put Marshall ahead by 30 points, 46-6.

Marshall’s offense didn’t take any step coming out of the locker room, finishing the night in comfortable fashion with running clock as reserve players also got to see some time on the court.

“Especially with me and Avery [Fahl], we have sisters on the team, so it’s fun to see the JV people succeed and make those kinds of plays,” Schneekloth said regarding cheering on the reserve players. “I feel like we owe them that respect to be able to do that. It’s always fun to do.”

The Tigers have four regular-season games remaining before the section tournament is slated to begin Feb. 24.

Marshall moves to 19-3 on the season, and will next hit the road to Brandon Valley, S.D. (13-0), on Friday at 7 p.m. before returning for its final home game of the regular season on Saturday to host Tri-City United (9-13) with a 1:30 p.m. tip off.