Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall guard Reese Drake (2) attempts a 3-point shot from the wing during the first half of a prep girls basketball game against New Ulm on Thursday night in Marshall.

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MARSHALL — Reese Drake scored a game-high 28 points for the top-ranked Marshall girls basketball team on Thursday night against New Ulm, leading the Tigers to a 80-53 win and ending the Eagles’ five-game win streak.

The Tigers’ defense was strong from the opening tip. Even though Marshall’s shots weren’t falling early, its defense held New Ulm scoreless for the first three minutes as they built a 10-0 lead.

Reese Drake scored 6 points during the Tigers’ early run, including one on a transition layup that she set up with a steal. She stayed hot throughout the first half, scoring 17 points before the break as Marshall built a 51-29 lead.

Morgan Hulke ended the drought for New Ulm when she knocked down a 3-pointer and Leah Brustad the deficit to 5 points with a turnaround jumper. Yet, Taleigha Bigler answered with a 3-pointer from about 25 feet out and Paige Gillingham came away with a steal before hitting a layup to bring Marshall’s lead back up to double digits, 15-5.

Bigler was one of four Tigers to finish the first half scoring in double figures. She, Avery Fahl and Avery Schneekloth each headed into the locker room with 10 points, while Hulke led New Ulm with 9 at halftime.

Leading 19-10, Marshall again went on a run when Bigler drained another deep 3-pointer, Schneekloth eurostepped her way to a layup and Drake recovered a loose ball to bring Marshall’s lead to 27-10 when the Eagles called a timeout with 10 minutes remaining in the half. Still, Drake hit another 3 immediately after to extend Marshall’s lead to 20 points.

New Ulm cut Marshall’s lead back down to 17 when a Drake layup got Marshall on the board. Fahl kept the momentum flowing by knocking down a 3 from each corner on back-to-back possessions and a long 2 from Schneekloth in the corner brought Marshall’s lead up to 47-22.

Schneekloth used some fancy footwork in the post and finished off a dump-in from Drake on consecutive possessions to give Marshall its largest lead of the half, 51-24. Yet, a pair of steals from Brustad and Madeline Backer in the final minute turned into a layup and a free throw for Brustad, cutting Marshall’s lead to 22 points at halftime.

The Eagles weren’t able to find much more of a rhythm in the second half as Marshall continued to pull away. The Tigers led by as many as 32 points, though the fell shy of the 35-point cushion needed to trigger the running clock.

Holding a 32-point lead with four minutes to play, Marshall was once again able to get its depth pieces some varsity experience by sitting its starters.

The Marshall Tigers remain undefeated with the win, currently sitting at 16-0 on the season. Marshall will look to keep the ball rolling when it hosts Fairmont (9-3) for its next game on Saturday at 1 p.m.

New Ulm drops to 9-5 with the loss. The Eagles will aim to recapture the momentum they’ve built up over the last month when they travel to Kasson-Mantorville for a game against Byron (11-3) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.