Over the next three minutes, Effingham got free throws by Grace Bushur and Althoff, plus buckets by Taylor Armstrong and Annie Frost. But Rosenberry and Durbin Thomas both made 3-pointers for Mahomet-Seymour. With 1:23 still left, the EHS lead was a scant one point, 49-48.

But the Lady Bulldogs didn’t score again and the Lady Hearts got free throws from Callie Feldhake, Bushur and Hayley Diveley to secure the six-point win.

“The first time we played them (a 58-48 loss), they got up on us and we couldn’t catch them,” Schafer noted. “Tonight, we got down again, but kept battling.”

Effingham got off to a quick start, jumping to an 8-3 lead. But the Lady Bulldogs then scored the final nine points of the first period and the first two of the second quarter to complete an 11-0 run and go on top 14-8. Twice the visitors expanded the margin to eight, the second time at 19-11. But this time it was the Lady Hearts that made a surge.

Frost and Diveley led the way. Diveley scored after grabbing a rebounded and added a 3-pointer and Frost hit a short jumper to trim the gap to 19-18. The Lady Hearts then closed the first half on an 8-2 run, with Frost scoring six of those, including a shot at the buzzer to send EHS to the locker room with a 26-24 advantage.

Effingham maintained a five to nine point cushion throughout the third period. Diveley hit a pair from long range and Althoff added another three, helping the Lady Hearts take a 40-33 lead into the final eight minutes.

One of the keys to the game was Schafer’s switch on defense to a 1-3-1 zone.

“I hate playing zone, but we weren’t able to stay with them man-to-man. We just don’t have the speed,” the EHS coach explained. “The zone really helped. We were able to get to their shooters and get a hand in their face. That just might have been the difference tonight.

“I thought the energy we got from our bench was also important tonight,” Schafer added. “Grace and Katie, especially, came off the bench and played a lot of minutes. They gave us some extra energy.”

Frost and Diveley led the EHS scoring attack, finishing with 16 and 15 points respectively. Armstrong and Frost led the team with six rebounds.

The Lady Hearts shot 46 percent overall, connecting on 18-of-39 shots. They were 4-for-6 from three-point range and 14-for-29 at the foul line.

“It was nice to get back on the winning side,” Schafer admitted. “I don’t remember the last time we lost six games in a row. It’s been a long couple weeks.”

Effingham improved to 8-11 on the season and 3-4 in the Apollo Conference. The Lady Hearts will play their next two games at home – Monday against Vandalia and Thursday against Centralia.