Bella Austin and Bria Beals hit back-to-back shots from behind the arc to put the hosts on top, 12-8, at the end of eight minutes and sparked what turned out to be a decisive 12-0 run.
The Lady Shoes turned the ball over six times in the first period, but then turned it over on six straight possessions without getting a shot to open the second quarter. Sidney Donaldson and Beals both made a free throw, and Averie Wolfe and Donaldson both hit jumpers – all of those scores coming after THS miscues – to expand the Effingham advantage to 18-8 with 5:52 to play in the first half.
At intermission, it was a 12-point margin. After those 16 minutes, the Lady Shoes had taken 17 shots, committed 15 turnovers and scored only 14 points. As the teams went to the locker room, the Lady Hearts were on top 26-14.
“We wanted to apply ball pressure without fouling,” Schafer said. “To win this game, we thought that gave us our best option. Our energy tonight was great. At times, it seemed like we were flying everywhere. And that did create some turnovers.”
Coach Thompson saw a pattern.
“When we’ve started out games missing shots, it seems like we can’t get over the hump,” she said. “Tonight, it took us three or four possessions to get our first score. Then we just started throwing up shots. We didn’t want to take the contact and square up and take good shots. Effingham sped us up and made us uncomfortable. Quite frankly, they outplayed us tonight. It’s that plain and simple.”
When the second half got started, Chloe Probst knocked down a three-pointer and hit three more short jumpers to get the Lady Shoes back to within nine after all four of those shots. But T-Town was unable to get any closer than that the rest of the way.
Alyssa Martin scored six points in the third period, helping EHS maintain its double-digit lead. Heading into the final eight minutes, the Lady Hearts owned a 38-25 advantage.
Malea Helmink and Kelsey Niemerg both scored to open the fourth quarter to again get the Lady Shoes within nine points, but Bella Austin knocked down a three and Beals connected on two more shots from long range as Effingham widened the gap in the final 5½ minutes.
“We have a deep, balanced team,” Schafer noted. “It’s nice to have multiple kids that score from 6 to 12 points every game. And it seems like it’s someone different every night.’
The Lady Hearts had three players in double figures. Beals led the way with 14 points, while Martin and Austin both scored 10. EHS made 19-of-44 shots overall, a 43 percent clip. They were 5-for-11 from behind the arc and 10-of-16 from the foul line. The Lady Hearts owned a 29-20 rebounding edge, with Martin pulling down nine.
Chloe Probst was the only T-Town player to crack double figures, finishing with a game-high 16 points. The Lady Shoes shot 35 percent from the floor, connecting on 14-of-40 attempts. They were 2-for-11 from three-point range and 4-for-8 from the line.
“Effingham has a nice team and do a lot things well,” Thompson said. “They’ve got a point guard, size and outside shooters. They have all that. And when it’s all clicking, like it was tonight, you saw what happened.
“But these are the types of games we need,” Thompson added. “It will help us get better. We want to play good teams like this.”
The Lady Shoes had their four-game winning streak snapped and dipped to 17-8 on the season. They will be back in action today (Saturday) at home, playing host to Breese Central.
The Lady Hearts are now 22-4 overall. They will also be back in action today (Saturday), traveling to Mahomet-Seymour for an Apollo Conference contest.
“We didn’t play a perfect game today, but I thought we played through our mistakes,” Schafer noted. “Our girls did exactly what we practiced. They are getting better at taking a game plan and carrying it out. That’s a very good sign.”
