A bucket by Nelson and then two free throws by Peyton Osteen, put the Lady Indians on top, 51-43, with 3:25 left. But just when it appeared the game was getting away from them, the Lady Hearts made a nice comeback.

Marissa Allie started the surge with a free throw. Madison Mapes then drilled a three, Bria Beals hit a short jumper and Allie converted an Altamont turnover into another basket, tying the game at 51-51 with 1:27 to play.

After a missed shot by the Lady Indians, Effingham had a chance to take the lead.

“With about three minutes to go, I thought we were toast,” Schafer admitted. “But I’m proud of the way the girls fought back and gave us a chance to actually take the lead. We got a good shot. It just didn’t go in.”

After Boehm hit her shot, the Lady Hearts had one more opportunity to tie or win the game. Again, they got off a good shot. It just didn’t fall.

“I probably should have called a timeout,” Schafer noted. “I thought we were going to go to the free throw line. I thought we got fouled, especially the way things were called in the final two minutes. But we didn’t. The girls did a good job and we still got off a good shot. But I should have called a timeout.”

It was a game that went back-and-forth throughout.

Nelson hit three long shots from behind the arc and scored 11 points, helping the Lady Indians take a 17-12 lead after the opening eight minutes. Ella Niebrugge connected on two from long range in the first period and then drained two more to open the second quarter. Mapes added another from three-point range to put EHS on top, 20-17, at the 6:31 mark.

Nelson scored all nine of her team’s points and Beals hit a three for Effingham. At intermission, the score was tied at 26-26.

Altamont built a bit of a lead in the third quarter. Nelson, again, netted nine points, and Boehm hit a three to send the Lady Indians into the final period with a 40-33 advantage.

Schafer said his team struggled on offense much of the game. The Lady Hearts were playing without Sidney Donaldson, a talented sophomore post player, that injured her knee in the game Wednesday night.

“We run a lot of things through Sidney, so we had to make some adjustments, and do that in just 48 hours,” Schafer explained. “We may have to play now with four or five guards. Everybody is going to have injuries. You just have to deal with it.”

The Lady Hearts had three players reach double figures. Niebrugge knocked down six three-pointers and finished with a team-high 18 points. Mapes scored 16 and Allie added 10. The team struggled at the foul line, making just 5-of-12 attempts, while Altamont made 8-of-9.

Effingham dipped to 3-1 on the season. The Lady Hearts will open Apollo Conference action and play their first game at home Tuesday night against Taylorville.