Mattoon used a 30-14 scoring edge in the second half Thursday night to pull away and post a 55-34 victory at home over Effingham.

The Lady Hearts played a solid first half and trailed just 25-20 at halftime.

“We played a pretty good first half; probably good enough to have the lead,” EHS coach Jeff Schafer said. “But in the second half, Mattoon was awesome defensively. They played great. But we still had some great stretches of play.”

Freshman Annie Frost had a strong game for Effingham, scoring 8 points and pulling down 14 rebounds. Hayley Diveley led the team with nine points and Taylor Armstrong also scored eight.

The Lady Hearts dropped to 3-3 overall and 0-1 in the Apollo Conference. They will play their home opener Monday night against Charleston.