The Lady Hornets' torrid first quarter pushed them to a 59-33 Class 4, District 8 first-round win over the Lady Pirates on Monday at Kirksville High School.
Fulton (16-10) will take on the No. 2 Warrenton Lady Warriors at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in a semifinal. The Lady Warriors (16-7) earned a first-round bye.
The Lady Hornets - the No. 3 seed - jumped out to a 12-2 lead and were praised by head coach TJ Quick for the relaxed attitude that they took onto the court.
"We looked loose, we looked comfortable and ready to go," Quick said. "We hit some easy buckets, which is nice to do start the game."
Fulton and the Lady Pirates each notched 15 points in the second quarter, but the Lady Pirates carried a 27-17 cushion into halftime.
"I felt like our energy was there; we attacked the basket, we only shot two 3's tonight," Quick said. "...We really took advantage of the pace and really attacked their weaknesses."
Junior forward NaShayla Brandt guided the Lady Hornets with a game-high 23 points.
"She was a different player tonight," Quick said of Brandt. "She attacked the lane from the beginning and got layup after layup after layup."
Junior guard Sloane Totta added 18 points as Fulton has won all three meetings with Hannibal this year.
Morgan Miller led the Lady Pirates with 15 points.
Though she complimented her team's play against the Hannibal, Quick noted that Fulton will have to tidy up some problem areas - particularly on the glass - if they hope to upend Warrenton and advance to the championship round.
"We have to clean up our mistakes," Quick said. "Hannibal outrebounded us again; if we allow Warrenton to second and third-chance shots, it'll be over.
"We're going to mix some things up defensively so hopefully we can confuse them a bit and play to our strengths and their weaknesses.