Freshman Averie Wolfe started the second quarter with the team’s seventh basket from long range to open a 15-point spread, but the Lady Hearts cooled off after that. Marissa Allie scored the final three points of the first half, sending EHS to the locker room with a 13-point advantage, 30-17, but the Lady Vandals narrowed the gap in the third period.
“We usually have a pretty good margin in the second and third quarters,” EHS coach Jeff Schafer said. “But we weren’t very sharp coming out after halftime.”
Anna Forbes led the comeback almost singlehandedly. The senior forward scored 11 of Vandalia’s 13 third-quarter points. When teammate Shelby Bowles made a pair of foul shots with only five seconds left, the Lady Vandals trailed by only five, 35-30, heading into the final eight minutes.
Mapes drained two more from long range and Wolfe added another three for EHS, but Vandalia responded with three shots from behind the arc, as well, to keep it close. Back-to-back threes by Mapes and Wolfe had the Lady Hearts up by 10 points, 43-43 midway through the fourth period.
But a three-point play by Forbes sparked a 10-4 run that got the Lady Vandals to within four, 47-43, at the 1:28 mark.
That’s when Vandalia started fouling and the Lady Hearts responded. Mapes made all six of her foul shots and Saige Althoff knocked down two more, as EHS went 8-for-8 in the final 53 seconds to secure the victory.
“I know we made some mistakes, but the girls hung with it,” Schafer noted. “I was really proud of how they stepped up and made their free throws. That was a nice job.
“But also give credit to Vandalia,” Schafer added. “Their five starters are really good players. That’s a tough, gritty team.”
Forbes finished with 24 points for the Lady Vandals, who dipped to 15-8 on the season.
“She’s tough inside,” Schafer said. “At the beginning, Marissa, Saige and our help defense did a good job shutting her down. But when Marissa went out, we struggled to guard her. Marissa is just so smart defensively. She’s always in the right spot.”
Mapes was the only Effingham player to reach double figures with her 27-point performance.
“When she gets it going, she can really stroke it,” Schafer said. “She certainly came up big for us tonight. She’s definitely one of our leaders.”
The Lady Hearts improved to 16-6 overall.
