Schafer will become the winningest coach in school history this year. It could come tonight (Friday) when his Lady Hearts play host to Lincoln.

His preparation, ability to adapt and knowing which players can best help in a given situation were all on display Thursday night.

Schafer had a game plan for the Lady Bulldogs. He was planning to have Madison Mapes, normally the team’s point guard, play more inside. But when Marissa Allie came down sick and was unable to play, he had to make some revisions.

His team’s rarely play zone on defense. But to properly defend St. Anthony’s standout post player, Lucy Fearday, Schafer switched to a zone in the second quarter and it changed the game.

And with Allie out sick, Sydney Donaldson sidelined with a knee injury, and then two starters in foul trouble just three minutes into the game, Schafer was forced to use his bench and didn’t hesitate relying on a couple freshmen – and one of those was another key to this victory.

Early on, the two teams traded baskets. Fearday proved to be unstoppable in the first eight minutes. She scored 10 points, including the final three of the quarter, to deadlock the game at 14-14.

With starters Ella Niebrugge and Saige Althoff both whistled for two early fouls, freshmen Averie Wolfe and Alyssa Martin found themselves in the game. Martin, playing in just her second varsity game, made an immediate impact.

After scoring four points in the first period, she tallied nine more in the second quarter, helping the Lady Hearts go on a scoring run and take control of the contest.

“She’s only practiced with us for a couple games,” Schafer noted. “We saw what she could do in the Charleston game. She gives us a lot of offense and scores well against a zone.”

Bria Beals put EHS on top to stay, knocking down the first of her five three-pointers to open the second period. After a bucket by St. Anthony’s standout freshman, Nancy Ruholl, Mapes and Beals connected on back-to-back threes to ignite a 15-2 run. Martin accounted for nine of those points, as the Lady Hearts opened a 32-18 advantage at the 2:28 mark.

Ruholl and Fearday both hit shots from behind the arc, but two baskets by Mapes, including one right before the buzzer, sent Effingham to the locker room with a 36-24 edge at intermission.

Another key part of that second quarter was Schafer switching defenses and going to a zone.

“I hate playing zone,” he admitted. “I don’t like giving good shooters open looks and a chance to burn you.

“But we needed to botte up Fearday,” Schafer added. “We started with a 1-3-1, but then went to our 2-3, which was even better. It gave us more people to help guard her. Going to zone changed the game.”

“We couldn’t knock down shots,” St. Anthony coach Aaron Rios said. “We were terrible from the field. In our first 10 games, we were dominant with our shots from three to four feet. This is the third game in a row for us that we didn’t execute and we didn’t shoot well.”

Beals continued her hot shooting in the third period, connecting on two more from long range and scoring eight points. Anna Faber and Ruholl also hit from behind the arc and Stacie Vonderheide made two baskets, including one at the 2:16 mark that got the Lady Bulldogs to within 10 points, 44-34. But the lead never went under double digits the rest of the way.

Beals scored and Martin turned a St. Anthony turnover into a basket at the end of the period to send the Lady Hearts into the final eight minutes with a 16-point spread, 52-36.

Beals, Mapes and Wolfe each hit from three-point range in the fourth quarter, as the lead expanded to as much as 24 points and Schafer’s record-tying victory was assured.

“This has been a difficult week for us,” Rios said. “We had T-Town on Monday night and I thought we battled them pretty well. Then tonight, we came in here and thought Effingham was a team we could possibly beat. But they dominated us.

“They played really, really well,” Rios added. “Congratulations to Jeff. He does a great job.”

Fearday finished with 18 points and Ruholl added 14. The Lady Bulldogs made 17-of-48 shots, a 35 percent clip. They were 5-for-13 from behind the arc and 4-for-11 from the foul line. They turned the ball over 19 times.

“This is the worst we’ve come out for a game all season,” Rios said. “It’s hard to find positive things from tonight. I thought we did okay the first three or four minutes, but after that, they controlled the game. I’m confident we’ll come out and play better Saturday.”

The Lady Hearts had three players in double figures. Mapes had a game-high 20 points, while Beals finished with 19 and Martin added 15. EHS shot 51 percent, connecting on 26-of-51 attempts. Over the last three quarters, they shot 54 percent overall, and connected on 8-of-11 from long range, a torrid 73 percent. They were also 5-for-6 from the foul line and had 14 turnovers.

“Madison is the key,” Schafer said. “She does so many things for us. Tonight, she did a great job getting into the lane, getting to the basket and either getting a jump shot or dishing out for a three.

“Our ball movement against the zone was also very good tonight,” Schafer added. “The girls are always willing to make the extra pass to get a better shot. Bria had the hot hand and we got her the ball.”

St. Anthony dipped to 10-2 overall. They will play Saturday at Arthur-Lovington.

The Lady Hearts improved to 9-2.