The Effingham Lady Hearts had a good first day at the Vandalia Mid-Winter Girls Basketball Tournament.

The Lady Hearts posted a pair of victories Monday, beating Centralia 52-32 and following that with a 61-38 win over Vandalia.

Effingham will return to action Wednesday in the round robin tourney. They will play Greenville at 6 p.m.

The Lady Hearts outscored Centralia 29-11 in the middle two quarters to pull away. EHS held a slim 11-9 lead after the opening quarter. Meredith Schaefer then connected on a pair of three-pointers and scored eight points in the second quarter, helping Effingham take a 29-18 lead at halftime.

It was Sawyer Althoff’s turn in the third period. The senior guard scored eight points, as the Lady Hearts built a 40-20 advantage heading into the final quarter.

Sawyer finished with 15 points and Schaefer added 14 for EHS to lead the scoring attack.

Effingham followed a similar pattern against Vandalia. The Lady Hearts outscored the Lady Vandals 37-20 in the middle two quarters to build a 50-28 advantage.

Althoff had 10 points during that 16-minute stretch and Madison Mapes scored nine in the third period to spark the 25-12 scoring spree.

Althoff led the Lady Hearts with 10 points, while Mapes, Ella Niebrugge, Schaefer and Sidney Donaldson all scored nine.

The Lady Hearts improved to 14-6 on the season.