HANNIBAL — An explosive 22-point first half by River senior Kaylee Hagan and 25 unanswered points by the Lady Pilots in the second quarter made for a combination head coach Rick Isaly would take any night.

Isaly’s crew used those numbers along with forcing 19 Magnolia turnovers in a decisive 60-23 repeat win Monday at the R.L. Potts gymnasium.

A third straight win pushed River’s record to 7-6, but more importantly, kept the Lady Pilots in the thick of the OVAC 2A race along with Steubenville Central, Southern and Toronto as the top four qualify for the playoffs.

“(Kaylee) has been playing well and she had us off to a pretty good start,” said Isaly, who has directed River to back-to-back OVAC 2A titles. Hagan’s scoring came prior to halftime, as an OHSAA-mandated running clock in the second half limited her playing time. She added seven rebounds, five steals and five assists.

Another big contributor for River was senior stalwart Reese Hobbs, whom Isaly said, “helps steady us on both ends of the floor.” Hobbs had six steals, six assists and five boards.

“We were able to sub early and get everyone in, but as a team we need to execute better offensively. We have a tough remaining schedule.”

The Lady Blue Eagles (3-5), one of the youngest teams in OVAC 2A, had trouble handling River’s pressure early on which resulted in several off-balance shots. Freshman Bella Sockman scored to slice it to 12-4, but River closed the round on a 3-pointer from junior Zoey Fox, two free throws from frosh Brayleigh Trifonoff, and a converted steal from sophomore Maci Isaly.

Fox’s trey upped it to 27-8 and, after a timeout by Magnolia coach Kasey Sapp, the run continued as Hagan knocked down three straight bonus bombs, converted two steals into five points, while Hobbs added two jumpers. It was 46-12 after three.

Junior Jade Carvoo’s 3-pointer opened the second half for Magnolia, but after Hobbs swished, Isaly added four straight layups and frosh Carleigh Trifonoff added another for a 58-19 lead after three.

Isaly had 12 points and five steals for the hosts, while Fox and Mallory Maddy each had four rebounds.

River, which hosts Shadyside on Thursday, was 24-of-48 for 50 percent shooting, while Magnolia was nine-for-36 for 25 percent shooting.