Fulton Lady Hornets head coach TJ Quick said her team would need to be focused from the moment it arrived if it wanted to extend the season.
The Lady Hornets did just that.
Sophomore guard Sloane Totta scored 18 of her game-high 25 points in the second half as fifth-seeded Fulton topped No. 4 Marshall 47-32 in the first round of the Class 4, District 8 Tournament on Tuesday night.
Fulton (9-17) will now square off against the top-seeded Helias Lady Crusaders in the semifinals at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
The Lady Hornets led by four after one quarter Tuesday night, then outscored the Lady Owls 11-5 in the second quarter to take a 20-11 lead into halftime.
Fulton split its North Central Missouri Conference meetings with Marshall during the regular season, winning 51-35 on Jan. 8 at home and then dropping the return match against the Lady Owls 44-37 on Feb. 10 in Marshall.
"We had a game plan to attack that 2-3 zone (defense)," Quick said. "... When you get the inside game going and the outside game going, it's hard to stop us."