The Effingham Lady Hearts got another big win Thursday night and Jeff Schafer moved a step closer to a coaching milestone.

In what Schafer described as a “battle royale,” the Lady Hearts posted a hard-fought 45-40 Apollo Conference victory at Mattoon.

“We played really hard and just gutted it out,” Schafer said about his team’s performance.

The Lady Hearts trailed by three points, 20-17, at intermission. They came out and scored the first four points of the second half to take the lead and it remained a two to five-point spread the rest of the contest.

Ella Niebrugge had seven points in the third quarter and EHS held a slim two-point edge, 34-32, heading into the final eight minutes. Saige Althoff knocked down a three and scored five points, and Madison Mapes, Averie Wolfe and Marissa Allie all had a pair, helping Effingham secure the win down the stretch.

“Everyone contributed,” Schafer said. “We had six different players score at least two times in the second half. Our help defense, led by Marissa Allie, was probably the difference in the game. This was just a real hard-fought win for us. I couldn’t be more proud of their effort.”

Niebrugge finished with 14 points to pace the Lady Hearts. Allie scored eight and Mapes, Althoff and Bria Beals each had seven. Beals led the team with eight rebounds and Mapes dished out five assists.

For Schafer, it was win No. 456 in his coaching career. He is now just two victories away from tying Jim Maxedon for the most wins ever by an Effingham coach.

The Lady Hearts improved to 7-1 on the season and are now 2-0 in league play. They will be right back in action tonight (Friday) with another conference game at Mahomet-Seymour.

The Effingham Lady Hearts used a big third quarter to pull away, en route to a 49-36 win at home Saturday over North Clay.

Effingham held a slim 25-23 lead at halftime, but then went on a 17-3 scoring surge in the third period to build a 42-26 advantage. Ella Niebrugge scored nine points to spark that run.

Madison Mapes and Niebrugge both connected on three-pointers and scored five points to help EHS open a 12-7 lead after the first eight minutes. But the Lady Cardinals got eight points from both Alexis VanDyke and Miah Ballard in the second quarter to make it a two-point game at intermission.

Niebrugge finished with a game-high 17 points for the Lady Hearts, while Averie Wolfe added 12. Mapes and Bria Beals both scored nine. Ballard led North Clay with 14 points.

The Lady Hearts improved to 6-1 on the season. They will play two Apollo Conference road games next week on back-to-back nights – Thursday at Mattoon and Friday at Mahomet-Seymour.

The Effingham Hearts used a big second quarter Tuesday night to open a double-digit lead and then rolled to a 63-48 victory at home over Mattoon.

Effingham led 10-5 after the first eight minutes and then went on a 17-6 scoring spree. Garrett Wolfe knocked down a three and scored five points and Ethan Jones, Andrew Splechter and Logan Heil each score four, helping the Hearts take a 27-11 lead at halftime.

“Mattoon struggled getting shots and getting to the basket in that second quarter,” EHS coach Obie Farmer said. “Plus, we showed real good balance on offense. We moved the ball well and when things opened up, our guys capitalized on their opportunities. We also scored points off turnovers tonight.”

Things started to “open up” after Heil scored all 10 of Effingham’s points in the opening period.

“We fed Logan early,” Farmer noted. “When they started to collapse on him, he passed the ball out for open shot after open shot. We also did a good job of crashing the boards.”

The Green Wave closed to within 40-29 after three quarters and got as close as 10 early in the final period. But Andrew Donaldson and Wolfe connected on back-to-back three-pointers to expand the lead to 16. The Hearts led by as many as 20.

Heil and Wolfe both scored 15 points to lead EHS, while Splechter added 14.

“I told the kids before the game that energy and effort would win us this game,” Farmer said. “They bought into that. Our goal is to out-work everybody we play. If we do that, things will work out.”

Effingham, now 3-4 overall and 2-0 in the Apollo Conference, will play two more homes games this week – Friday against Mahomet-Seymour in another conference contest; and Saturday against Mt. Vernon.

The Effingham Hearts gave Mascoutah all they could handle Saturday before dropping a 45-41 decision in overtime.

It was part of the Marion Shootout.

The game was close throughout. The Hearts led 9-8 after the first eight minutes and the game was tied 23-23 at intermission. The Indians led 33-32 after three quarters and the game was tied 37-37 at the end of regulation.

Mascoutah took the lead in the extra period, but a basket by Garrett Wolfe tied it up. The Indians scored the next four points and EHS was unable to score again until two free throws by Logan Heil with just 1.8 seconds to play.

“The kids played awesome,” EHS coach Obie Farmer said. “After the game, I told them it was okay to be upset about the loss, but they had nothing to hang their heads about. They followed the game plan. We kept Mascoutah out of transition and we forced them to shoot outside the arc. We did not want to let them attack and get to the rim.”

Wolfe paced the Hearts with 16 points and Heil finished with 11.

“Mascoutah is a really good team,” Farmer noted. “The only team they’ve lost to so far was Collinsville.

“I feel like there’s been obvious growth since our first game,” the EHS coach added. “Every game we’re taking a step forward. The kids are eager to get better. They’re not satisfied to just go out and compete. To see where we started to where we are now, I’m very pleased with the progress this team is making.”

Effingham, now 2-4, will play three homes games next week – Tuesday against Mattoon; Friday against Mahomet-Seymour; and Saturday against Mt. Vernon.