The Effingham Lady Hearts will have a chance to claim a regional title for the first time since 2019.
And Coach Jeff Schafer cracked the 20-win plateau for the 14th time in his 25-year career.
All that was accomplished Monday night when Effingham rolled to an 87-15 win over Charleston in a semifinal game of the Class 3A Mattoon Regional.
That sets up the “rubber match” between the Lady Hearts and the host Lady Green Wave. Effingham got a 45-40 victory in December, but Mattoon bounced back to post a 50-46 decision just last month.
The two squads will now square off for the regional championship Friday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., with the winner advancing to the Centralia Sectional.
The regional opener was no contest. The Lady Hearts build a 19-5 lead after the first eight minutes and then outscored the Lady Trojans 27-0 in the second period to take a comfortable 46-5 lead at intermission.
Fourteen Lady Hearts saw action and 13 of them got into the scoring column. Alyssa Martin and Bria Beals led the team in scoring, as both netted 11 points. Madison Mapes and Ella Niebrugge were also in double figures, both getting 10.
EHS improved to 20-10 on the season. Schafer, who is the winningest coach in EHS history, now has 469 career wins.
