Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall's Avery Schneekloth (left) backs into the post during a Class AAA girls basketball semifinal game against Benilde-St. Margaret's, Saturday in Minneapolis. The Tigers took on Cretin-Derham Hall in Saturday's third-place game, coming away with a 68-51 win at the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul.

ST. PAUL — The well-rounded scoring effort of the Marshall girls basketball team led the third-seeded Tigers to a win in the Class AAA state third-place game Saturday at the Gangelhoff Center. Taking on No. 4 Cretin-Derham Hall, Four Tigers scored at least 14 points to pull ahead early for a 68-51 win.

“Heading into the game, we were a little bit worried about where they [Marshall] were going to be mentally, because our kids had put so much into the season and they went there wanting to win the whole thing,” Marshall head coach Dan Westby said, adding that he felt it was good that his team had a day in between the semifinals and the third-place game to regroup. “Our kids really came out focused and ready to go on Saturday, and that was good to see because sometimes its hard to get up for those third-place or consolation games, but once the game started, their competitive spirit took over.”

Avery Fahl led Marshall’s scoring effort with a long-range barrage, shooting 5 of 8 from beyond the arc to finish with 19 points. Reese Drake and Avery Schneekloth added 15 points each, coming on 4 of 13 shooting for Drake and 6 of 15 for Schneekloth, while Taleigha Bigler added another 14 points on 4 of 12 shooting.

Bigler and Schneekloth each knocked down three 3-pointers in the game, helping Marshall to a 38% shooting clip as a team.

“Our pressure gave them some problems early on and that kind of set the tone for the rest of our defense,” Westby said, noting that the Tigers have one of the top-ranked defenses in the state. “I think that was a big part of our success all season, but certainly to come out and have a defensive effort like that against one of the best teams in the state, I think, really says a lot about our group.”

Defensively, Marshall limited Cretin-Derham Hall to 36% shooting from the field and 28% shooting from 3. Schneekloth and Nubile each blocked a pair of shots, and Schneekloth also tied Bigler with two steals to help the Tigers to a 9-11 edge in the turnover battle.

Schneekloth grabbed eight rebounds and dished out a team-high five assists on one turnover for Marshall. Bigler also tied Nubile with seven rebounds and tied Drake with four assists.

Cretin-Derham Hall was led by Madeleine Hamiel’s 22 points on 8 of 17 shooting. The freshman guard also tied Joey Hover with a team-high 10 rebounds. Hamiel was the only Raider to score in double figures.

The Tigers finish their season at 27-5 and graduate a group of seniors, including Drake, Fahl, Bigler and Bryn Webb.

“Those four have been leaders over the years … They’ve always been up there just providing a good example for younger kids all season long, and certainly that week up at the state tournament. They continue to provide a great example for all of our kids,” Westby said.

The win gives Marshall its second consecutive top-3 state tournament finish, following its Class AAA runner-up finish last season. When asked what he was most proud of his team for over the course of the season, one of the things that came to mind for Westby was the way in which the girls competed in a gauntlet of a schedule that included nine games against state-ranked teams.

“We put together a pretty competitive schedule for this group this year with a lot of tough games, especially on the road, and they never shied away from any challenge that they faced,” Westby said. “I think that’s what allowed us to play so well on the biggest stage here at the state tournament, just the fact that those kids, it didn’t matter who the opponent was, they were ready to go out and compete.”