By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
It took just one game for Obie Farmer to realize changes needed to be made.
Effingham’s season-opening performance – a 58-32 loss to Breese Central -- was, quite honestly, brutal.
Game 2 resulted in another setback, but the Hearts played with more energy and a lot more pace, and scored twice as many points.
Robinson used an impressive 6½-minute spurt in the second half to pull away for an 81-66 victory Wednesday night at the St. Anthony Thanksgiving Tournament.
But coaches, players and fans had to come away much more encouraged and optimistic about the season ahead.
“It was back to the drawing board after that first game,” Farmer admitted. “Part of being a coach is finding what works best for the kids. We didn’t feel comfortable with how we played Tuesday night. We tried to slow it down and I should have known better.
“After that first game, I was at a bit of a loss,” Farmer added. “It helped a lot to meet with the coaching staff and the team. We talked things out. The kids need to have input, too. As a coach, sometimes we have to adjust. I think the changes we made worked. I feel we’re moving in the right direction now.”
Effingham’s up-tempo approach against Robinson was in direct contrast to the game just 24 hours earlier. The Hearts came out in much more of an attack mode at both ends of the floor.
The Effingham Lady Hearts jumped out to an early lead and rolled to a 48-18 victory over Flora Wednesday night at the Bob Kerans Thanksgiving Tournament in Newton.
Bria Beals knocked down a three-pointer and scored eight points in the opening period, helping the Lady Hearts build an 18-4 lead. It was 33-7 at halftime and 45-14 after three quarters.
Beals finished with a game-high 12 points. Madison Mapes scored nine, Sage Althoff eight and Ella Niebrugge seven.
The Lady Hearts are now 2-0 in the tourney and 3-0 overall. They will face Altamont at 1:30 p.m. Friday in their final game at the tournament.
A pair of third-quarter three-pointers by Ella Niebrugge proved to be the spark Effingham needed.
The Lady Hearts used those shots to ignite what turned into a 21-5 second half run that propelled EHS to a 39-23 victory Monday night over Newton in an opening-round game of the Bob Kerans Thanksgiving Tournament, played in Newton.
The first half was tight throughout. The score was tied 10-10 after the first eight minutes and 18-18 at intermission.
Niebrugge’s threes helped the Lady Hearts go ahead 29-21 at the end of the third period. She then knocked down another from behind the arc, as Effingham outscored Newton 10-2 in the final quarter to pull away for the 16-point decision.
Niebrugge finished with a team-high 10 points, with all 10 coming in the second half. Madison Mapes scored nine and Bria Beals added eight.
The Lady Hearts improved to 2-0. They will return to tournament action on Wednesday when they face Flora at 6 p.m. Effingham will then wrap up tournament play Friday with a 1:30 p.m. matchup with Altamont.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
Effingham basketball coach Obie Farmer summed up his team’s season-opening game accurately.
“This was a tough way to start.”
The Hearts had trouble at both ends of the floor – scoring, defending, rebounding and taking care of the ball.
The result was a 58-32 setback to Breese Central Tuesday night in an opening-round game for both teams in the St. Anthony Thanksgiving Tournament.
The Hearts got a three-pointer from Andrew Donaldson to start the game and a long banked-in three from Garrett Wolfe just ahead of the first quarter buzzer. In between, they missed five shots, turned the ball over six times and fell behind 12-6.
Unfortunately, the second quarter wasn’t much better. Wolfe hit a jumper and added three free throws and Logan Heil added a bucket from short range. But that was it.
Meanwhile, Ty Kueper knocked down two shots from behind the arc and scored 10 points, helping the Cougars increase their advantage to 30-13 by halftime.
“It’s obvious we’ve got a lot of growing up to do,” Farmer said. “We made some decisions and did other things that showed our inexperience at the varsity level. The kids played hard, but they just didn’t put themselves in the right positions.
“Plus, when you start to play catch-up, it changes your game,” Farmer added. “Then you start taking risks and doing things you’re not prepared to do trying to get caught back up.”
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
For Jeff Schafer, his 25th year as head coach of the Effingham Lady Hearts could be a very special one.
He enters the season with 449 career victories, which is just nine shy of Jim Maxedon’s school record 458. When the Lady Hearts notch their 10th win of the season, Schafer will become the all-time winningest coach in EHS history.
But when talking about the year ahead, the veteran coach was more interested in talking about his team rather than personal accomplishments.
Schafer describes his 2022-23 squad as one “with a lot of upside” and “untapped potential.”
The Lady Hearts kicked off the season with a 53-43 victory over Dieterich and will look for victory No. 2 tonight (Monday) when they face Newton at 7:30 p.m. in an opening-round game of the Bob Kerans Thanksgiving Tournament in Newton.
“There is definitely a lot of upside with this year’s team,” Schafer said. “We had some young kids that got their feet wet as freshmen. By the end of the year, they were key parts of our success. It’s going to be interesting to see who takes that big leap forward this year.”
Last year’s team was a big of surprise. Effingham finished with 21-11 overall record and was 6-6 in the Apollo Conference.
“Nobody expected last year’s team to have the success it did,” the veteran coach noted. “This year’s team is very similar, so we won’t be flying under the radar this time.”
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