“We practice those late-game situations a lot,” Schafer explained. “I told the girls to just go out and do what we do in practice. Don’t be afraid to make the play or take the shot.

“I think this team has a chance to be special,” Schafer added. “But if so, they have to find ways to win games just like this.”

It wasn’t easy or pretty.

“Ball fake and then pass.” The Lady Hearts heard Coach Schafer stress those words often leading up to the game. He knew Newton played a tough zone defense, kept their hands up and deflected a lot of passes.

Chances are, the Effingham squad is going to hear those words a lot more. The Lady Hearts were guilty of 26 turnovers – most of them caused simply by trying to pass over outstretched hands rather using the ball fake first and then making a pass.

A rash of turnovers – 16 of them – during the second and third quarters almost proved to be decisive.

EHS maintained a slim lead through the first half. The Lady Hearts turned the ball over seven times in the second period, but cold shooting (3-of-12) by Newton, allowed them to stay in front.

A short jumper by Saige Althoff with just three seconds to go sent Effingham to the locker room with a 24-20 edge at intermission.

A bucket by Sydney Donaldson, two free throws by Bella Austin and a rebound basket by Martin extended the lead to 30-23 at the 6:11 mark of the third period.

That’s when the turnover bug hit again and that lead quickly disappeared.

The Lady Hearts committed nine in the third quarter, and this time, the Lady Eagles took advantage. Addy O’Dell started the surge with a three-pointer. During one stretch, Newton scored on five straight possessions – all following EHS turnovers.

O’Dell hit another three, as did Karasyn Martin. Consecutive buckets by O’Dell and Camryn Martin made it a 13-3 surge and a 36-30 lead by the hosts.

Another turnover, followed by a bucket from Allie Hermann, gave Newton its biggest lead of the game, 40-31. A three-pointer by Bria Beals helped, but a late basket by Camryn Martin ended the third period. The Lady Eagles finished the quarter on a 19-5 run and owned a 42-35 edge entering the final eight minutes.

“I knew we wouldn’t be able to get it all back at once, but I told the girls to just keep playing,” Schafer said. “We were making mistakes, but I knew we could play through those. Most of the people probably thought we were beat. But if we made enough plays, I believed we could still get it done.”

Beals opened the period with a three and Austin followed with a score after grabbing an offensive rebound. In just 44 seconds, the lead was trimmed to two, 42-40.

But in the next 56 seconds, O’Dell and Karasyn Martin both connected on shots from behind the arc. Quickly, it was an eight-point spread, 48-40. And there was 6:11 remaining.

Wolfe started the comeback with a shot from long range and followed that by converting a Newton turnover into a three-point play to make it 48-46. After Newton got it back to 51-47, Donaldson delivered a clutch three to get the Lady Hearts within 51-50 at the 2:27 mark.

Both teams turned the ball over during the next two-minute stretch, before Wolfe came up with the steal and two big free throws to give EHS the lead for good.

“It wasn’t pretty,” Schafer admitted. “But a lot of that had to do with Newton. They’re really good. They’re going to win a lot of games this year.”

The coach also knows his team has to cut down on the turnovers.

“We work on that ball fake and pass,” Schafer said. “You make a ball fake and then you make a strong pass. At times, we looked crisp. But at other times, we were lethargic. That defense Newton plays is really good. Those three kids on top of that zone have great instincts. Against good teams like that, you can’t expect to turn the ball over as much as we did and win many games. It just won’t happen.”

Newton had three players in double figures. Karasyn Martin had 15 points, while O’Dell scored 14 and Camryn Martin added 11.

The Lady Hearts had four players in double figures. Donaldson and Martin both had 12 points, while Wolfe scored 11 and Beals added 10. For Donaldson, it was a double-double performance. She also pulled down 10 rebounds.

“Overall, the tournament was kind of like I thought it would be,” Schafer said. “This was our first real test against a good team. I thought our defense was very good throughout the tournament. But we need to tighten some things up on offense. We’re very talented offensively, but we need to play better on that end of the floor.”

The Lady Hearts are now 5-0 on the season.

They will return home and face Taylorville on Tuesday. It will be their Apollo Conference opener.