By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
Jeff Schafer was a bit puzzled.
His Lady Hearts were only trailing by one point at the end of the third period.
“But I kept thinking, ‘How did we get here? How are we this close?’” he thought. “I felt like we had been dominated for three quarters.”
The Effingham Lady Hearts responded with a strong fourth quarter to come away with a 71-61 win Thursday night over a good St. Anthony team.
The Lady Bulldogs held a slim 47-46 edge entering the final eight minutes. But Effingham then managed to turn things around.
After making just 2-of-13 three-point attempts through three quarters, the Lady Hearts knocked down three in the fourth period. After turning the ball over 15 times in the first three quarters, they had only three miscues down the stretch. And after making just 6 of their first 16 free throws, they made 13 of their final 16.
That combination proved successful, as EHS outscored St. Anthony 25-14 to notch their 10th win of the season.
“We played one good quarter, but it was enough tonight,” Schafer said.
It was a game of scoring runs.
Charleston used a big second quarter to build a sizeable halftime lead, en route to a 62-33 win at home Thursday night over Effingham in an Apollo Conference contest.
The Trojans held an 18-10 lead after the opening eight minutes, but then went on a 19-5 scoring surge to increase their advantage to 37-15 at halftime. Charleston then outscored the Hearts 17-4 in the third period to take a 54-19 lead into the final quarter.
Cannon Bockhorn led Effingham with 10 points.
The Hearts dipped to 2-10 overall and 1-3 in conference play. Their next game will be in the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic. EHS will face Champaign Centennial at 7:30 p.m.
After a close first quarter, the Effingham Lady Hearts gradually pulled away and posted a 49-31 victory at home Saturday afternoon over Mahomet-Seymour in an Apollo Conference contest.
The Lady Hearts held a slim 17-15 lead after the first eight minutes. But they increased the margin to 26-17 at halftime, and 33-23 after three quarters before outscoring the Lady Bulldogs 16-8 in the final period to secure the win.
After a disappointing performance the day before against Mattoon, EHS bounced back to get its first conference win of the season.
Bria Beals and Alyssa Martin led the Effingham scoring attack, finishing with 13 and 10 points respectively. Sidney Donaldson scored nine and Saige Althoff added eight.
The Lady Hearts improved to 8-2 overall and are now 1-2 in the Apollo. They will play another league game Monday, traveling to Charleston.
It was closer than expected – for a half.
But then the Effingham Lady Hearts got rolling.
Effingham used a 43-6 scoring surge in the second half to pull away and post a 61-21 victory Monday night at Charleston.
The Lady Hearts shot a frigid 25 percent in the first 16 minutes, including an 0-for-8 showing from behind the arc, and held a slim 18-15 advantage at intermission.
But when the shooting improved in the second half, EHS quickly put the game out of reach. The Lady Hearts outscored the Lady Trojans 25-6 in the third period to increase the lead to 43-21 and then finished the contest on an 18-0 run.
Bria Beals and Saige Althoff shared scoring honors for Effingham, both finishing with 13 points. Bella Austin also reached double figures with 10.
The Lady Hearts improved to 9-2 overall and are now 2-2 in the Apollo Conference. They will return to action Thursday, traveling across town to face St. Anthony.
Mahomet-Seymour outscored Effingham 23-10 in the third quarter Friday night to build a sizeable lead, en route to a 59-37 road win.
The Bulldogs held an 18-10 advantage in a low-scoring first half. But the third quarter run expanded the lead to 41-20.
KJ Kellams and Nolan Fearday were in double figures for the Hearts, both scoring 11 points.
The Hearts are now 2-7 overall and 1-2 in the Apollo Conference. They will be back in action today (Saturday), traveling to Mt. Vernon.
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