When a team gets shut out for an entire quarter, it rarely wins a basketball game.
The exception to that rule happened Thursday night in Mt. Zion.
The Effingham Lady Hearts missed all 12 of their shots in the second period, didn’t score a single point and trailed 10-9 at halftime.
But the second half was a different story.
The Lady Hearts poured in 43 points over the final 16 minutes and rolled to a 52-30 road victory in the regular season and Apollo Conference finale.
That win was the 20th of the season for Effingham and the 13th time Coach Jeff Schafer has guided his team to 20 or more wins in his career.
That win looked a bit elusive in the first half, however. The Lady Hearts led 9-5 after the opening period, but then went ice cold and trailed by a point at halftime.
But things changed quickly in the third period. After being held scoreless in the first half, Madison Mapes knocked down three shots from behind the arc to spark a 20-9 scoring surge that put the Lady Hearts in control.
EHS didn’t let up in the final period. Mapes scored seven more and Meredith Schaefer connected on a pair of threes, helping the Lady Hearts close out the game on a 22-11 run and secure the 22-point win.
Mapes finished with a game-high 16 points, while Schaefer was also in double figures with 14.
The Lady Hearts finished the regular season at 20-10 overall and 6-6 in the Apollo. They will now prepare for the postseason and return to action Monday night. They are hosting the Class 3A Regional and will face Richland County (Olney) at 7:30 p.m.