Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall guard Taleigha Bigler, left, drives toward the paint during the first half of a prep girls basketball game at Southwest Minnesota State University on Friday night.

MARSHALL — The top-ranked Marshall girls basketball team extended its season-opening win streak to double digits at the Holiday Classic at Southwest Minnesota State University on Friday night. Taleigha Bigler’s hot shooting and precise passing helped the Tigers pull away early and capture a dominant 76-56 win.

The Tigers’ 10-game win streak is their longest to start a season since 2020-21 when the Tigers won each of their first 22 games. The Tigers’ streak was ended in the state championship game with a 70-58 loss to Becker.

“We’ve been happy in the fact that they’ve fought so hard together, and we never talk about record or anything. I don’t think these guys are concerned with that,” Marshall head coach Dan Westby said of the team’s streak. “They look at each game separately and take what they need to do heading into the game, and they’ve done such a good job of that to date and that needs to continue.”

JCC scored the game’s first point but the Tigers didn’t stay down for long. Reese Drake responded with a go-ahead and-1 layup and a Bigler steal turned into a Paige Gillingham transition bucket. Gillingham then forced a jump ball to set up a Bigler 3-pointer, and another steal from Bigler set up Avery Schneekloth for a fastbreak layup and a 10-1 Tiger lead.

Westby cited the team’s ball-movement as a whole as a driving force of the early success and Marshall’s ability to set the tone early on.

Bigler had the hot hand all night for Marshall, finishing with a game-high 26 points on 7 of 14 from the field and 3 of 7 from beyond the arc. Her six steals paved the way for Marshall’s 6-15 advantage in the turnover battle, her four rebounds tied Drake for a team-high and her five assists trailed only Drake’s six.

“I think we, as a team, were all driving really well and our teammates were finding open spaces on the 3-point line. We were able to find each other and we had a lot of good assists early,” Bigler said.

In addition to Bigler and Drake’s abilities as distributors, the Tigers also used Schneekloth to initiate the offense. Marshall frequently got the ball to Schneekloth near the free-throw line, where she functioned as an offensive hub as her teammates got into position. Westby said the look is something his players have been working on in practice recently and added that he thinks she handled the position well while giving the Tigers a different look.

Schneekloth finished the game with 12 points on 5 of 8 shooting, tying her with Gillingham for third on the team behind Bigler and Drake with 17.

The Huskies called their first timeout with 15:17 remaining but the Tigers’ momentum couldn’t be stopped. They zigged and zagged a series of passes up the court for a Gillingham layup before JCC ended the drought with a 3-pointer. Still, another Bigler dime to Schneekloth kept the Tiger lead at double digits and a Drake assist to Avery Fahl brought the lead up to 16-4 after the game’s first five minutes.

After a Bigler 3 extended Marshall’s lead to 15 points, the Huskies scored 6 unanswered points to get back within single digits. Yet, Marshall answered with a 7-0 run of its own to recoup its lead. The margin held, and a Gillingham 3-pointer in the final minute of the half sent Marshall to the locker room with a 39-23 lead.

Gillingham got the Tigers started in the second half just as she had closed out the first, scoring on the Tigers’ first possession after the break and getting a steal on the Huskies’ second possession.

The Huskies outrebounded Marshall 30-22 on the day, though the Tigers salvaged a 10-8 advantage on the offensive glass. Bigler said that the rebounding was something that Marshall talked about at halftime, with the team’s improvements on the boards in the second half helping the team pull away. While there are still strides to be made for the group, Bigler said, she felt that the Tigers’ defensive intensity also helped the group solidify the victory.

Marshall’s lead steadily grew from there and JCC was never able to maneuver its way back into the game. The Tigers led by as many as 32 points, going up 71-39 on a Reese Drake layup with eight minutes remaining. JCC cut it down to as few as 20 points in the final minute but never got within striking distance.

With six minutes left, the Tigers started to sub out their starters and get the younger members of the team some varsity experience. The depth pieces inspired confidence at points, with Maddie Panka turning on the jets after a Tiger turnover to get a chase-down block. It was Marshall’s lone block of the game.

Marshall (10-0) will look to keep its momentum rolling when it takes on Tea Area (S.D.) on the second day of the Holiday Classic at SMSU tonight at 7 p.m. The Titans have played three games so far this season, sitting at 2-1 on the year.

“As coach Westby always says, no matter how good you are, there’s always someone better. So every day at practice, we just want to get better and work together as a team,” Bigler said.