Tonganoxie ? Even slowing down couldn’t slow down the Tonganoxie High offense Friday night.

Despite Mill Valley implementing a stall offense — which took one minute, 30 seconds off the clock in its first possession — the Chieftains still found a way to run in a 57-32 girls basketball victory.

“We started putting a little more pressure on them and got the game back into our tempo where we wanted it,” Tonganoxie coach Randy Kraft said.

The stiff defense turned into a fast-break offense as the Chieftains forced 29 turnovers to pick up the pace and the score.

“They tried to slow us down and take us out of our game,” THS forward Addie Heim said, “but we can’t let teams do that because that’s not our style of play.”

Actually, Mill Valley’s slow play helped Tongie to a quick start.

After forcing two turnovers, a pair of baskets by Heim and teammate Ali Pistora gave the Chieftains an early 10-0 lead.

The advantage grew from there. Heim and Pistora combined for the first eight points of the second quarter, giving Tonganoxie a commanding 24-7 edge.

Heim, who played her last home game along with three other seniors, scored 15 first-half points and finished with 20.

Tonganoxie's Sam Mitchell makes his shot against Mill Valley's Kyle DeBerg. The Jaguars pounded the Chieftains, 71-40, Friday night in Tonganoxie.

Kraft said he was pleased with the effort from his experienced players.

“You never know how they are going to respond to Senior Night,” Kraft said, “but our seniors really stepped up and played well.”

Pistora contributed 16 points for Tonganoxie, while senior Heather Deaver added 10.

Kendra Corley led Mill Valley with 14 points.

At 15-2, Tonganoxie has its sights set on regional play next week.

“We’re really looking forward to the weeks to come,” Heim said. “We’re really confident and building on each win.”

Mill Valley boys 71, Tonganoxie 40

The Tonganoxie boys fell behind early and never recovered, falling to Mill Valley, 71-40.

“We didn’t execute very well and turned the ball over way too much,” Tonganoxie coach David Walker said. “You’re pretty simple to beat when you do those two things.”

Mill Valley hit four three-pointers in the first quarter to take an early 20-8 advantage and never relinquished the lead from there.

Jeff Hughes led the Chieftains with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

Tongie (4-13) will have to refocus quickly, taking on Santa Fe Trail at 1 p.m. today in a make-up game.