The Effingham Lady Hearts will play for the regional championship.

They earned a berth in the title game by posting a 52-41 victory over Olney (Richland County) in an opening-round game of the Class 3A Effingham Regional. It was their second win in five days over the Lady Tigers.

The Lady Hearts used a 20-11 scoring run in the final eight minutes to turn a slim lead into a double-digit win. Madison Mapes scored seven points, including four straight free throws down the stretch, and Ella Niebrugge drilled a three-pointer and added six more to help EHS pull away.

Effingham led 9-3 after the opening period, but Olney got within 18-17 at halftime. It was still a tight game after three quarters, with the hosts holding a slim 32-30 edge.

Kenzie Weiler scored a game-high 17 points for the Lady Tigers, who ended their season at 14-16.

Niebrugge and Meredith Schaefer paced EHS with 12 and 10 points respectively. Mapes finished with nine.

The Lady Hearts improved to 21-10 overall and will now look to capture a regional plaque for the first time since 2019. They will play Mt. Vernon at 7 p.m. Friday. The Lady Rams reached the championship game by beating Charleston 63-21 in Monday night’s first game.