The Lady Hearts had a 17-point bulge, 44-27, after three quarters and led by as many as 21 points, 48-27, early in the fourth period.

“With the exception of our guards struggling to take care of the basketball, I couldn’t be more pleased with the way we played,” Schafer said. “We moved the ball well on offense, got our fastbreak going, shared the basketball and got everybody involved. But it was disappointing how often we let them take the ball away from us. We have to improve on that.”

Nelson, an all-tournament selection, posted the big scoring game, but Shafer was pleased with his team’s defensive effort against her. Eliminating the layups, she was 4-for-19 from the floor.

“Madison (Mapes) and Krista (Phillips) did a great job on her,” the coach noted. “We wanted to make her work and force her into taking tough shots, which we did. Grace is a really good player.”

Effingham had two all-tournament selections as well – Schaefer and Niebrugge.

Schaefer finished with 22 points to pace the EHS scoring attack.

“She finds ways to score,” Schafer said. “She can score inside, hit the three-pointer and has also been getting baskets from offensive rebounds. She’s a good scorer and a quiet scorer. You don’t notice she’s racking up all those points.”

Niebrugge had 11 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, helping the Lady Hearts to a 39-21 rebounding advantage.

“Ella has played phenomenal so far,” Schafer added. “She’s a solid player and deserving of being on the all-tournament team.”

Effingham’s defense held Altamont to a cold 30 percent shooting game. The Lady Indians made just 16-of-53 of their attempts, including 1-for-18 from behind the three-point line.

The Lady Hearts connected on 45 percent of their shots, making 22-of-49. They were 3-for-9 from behind the arc and 9-for-18 from the foul line. They turned the ball over 20 times.

Effingham improved to 5-0 overall. The Lady Hearts will return to action Tuesday with their Apollo Conference opener at Taylorville.

“The games have gone like I hoped so far,” Schafer admitted. “Now we need to get off to a good start in the Apollo. I can tell you this. This team has a lot of heart.”