But the combination of Schneider and Cadence Presswood helped the Lady Railsplitters come back. Schneider, Lincoln’s 6’2” strong, physical center, not only scored four points, she also dished out three assists to Presswood underneath.

By the end of the opening period, Lincoln held a 17-16 lead.

“We got off to a nice start,” Schafer said. “We knocked down a couple shots and looked good offensively. But we had a couple defensive meltdowns that hurt. Plus, the big girl did a good job around the basket and made some nice passes, too.”

The Lady Hearts fell behind by five in the first minute of the second period, but baskets by Armstrong and Diveley and a three from Sawyer Althoff gave them a 23-22 lead. A score by Katie Carie and a pair of free throws by Callie Feldhake made it a 27-23 EHS advantage.

But the Lady Railsplitters made another surge to close out the first half. Schneider scored five points, including a three-point play, to put Lincoln on top 32-28 at intermission.

A basket from behind the arc by Diveley quickly got the Lady Hearts to within a single point as the third period opened. But Schneider scored five more points, including a three-pointer to cap a 9-0 run that gave Lincoln a double-digit lead, 41-31.

Diveley had five more points in the quarter and Frost added four more, helping EHS close to within 49-44 heading into the final eight minutes.

Schneider had a double-double, finishing with 21 points and 11 rebounds, helping Lincoln win its fifth straight game and improve to 6-10 overall.

Diveley scored a game-high 22 points, while Frost added 14.

“I was really pleased with how Hayley played tonight,” Schafer said. “She played under control and took good shots.”

The Lady Hearts shot just 34 percent from the floor, connecting on 18-of-53 shots overall. They were 5-for-23 from three-point range and 10-of-13 from the foul line. Effingham finished with 14 turnovers

For Effingham, it was a fifth straight setback. The Lady Hearts are now 2-4 in the Apollo Conference and 7-10 for the season.

“I don’t remember the last time we lost five games in a row,” Schafer said. “We just need to keep learning and improving and continue to stick together and play hard.”

Effingham will travel to Taylorville for a conference game Tuesday night.