By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
Nobody expected a close game and it wasn’t.
The Effingham Lady Hearts used a 20-0 first-half run to open a big lead and coasted to a 51-13 victory at home Tuesday night over a Charleston team that has just one win in 22 games.
But it was also Senior Night and a chance to recognize the four seniors on this year’s squad.
“These seniors were freshmen when we had the super sectional team,” EHS coach Jeff Schafer said. “These girls have just continued to improve all four years.
“They are great citizens besides what they do in basketball,” Schafer added. “They’re great kids. They’re coachable and they’re unselfish. I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
It was fitting that a senior – Sawyer Althoff – scored the first basket of the game. Fellow seniors – Meredith Schaefer, Coralin Ohnesorge and Krista Phillips – also saw plenty of playing time and each one scored. In fact, the four seniors combined to score 29 of the team’s points (Althoff 6, Schaeffer 10, Ohnesorge 7 and Phillips 6).
Four minutes into the contest, the Lady Hearts owned a 6-2 lead. The next time the Lady Trojans scored, they were down 24 points.
The third quarter has proven to be a challenge all season long for the Effingham Flaming Hearts.
That was the case again Monday night.
The Hearts trailed Lincoln by a single point at halftime, but were then outscored 13-3 in the third period and ended up dropping a 42-31 decision at home to Lincoln.
The Railsplitters held a 10-6 lead after the opening eight minutes and then had a slim 15-14 edge at intermission. Elijah Pollice then scored eight of his game-high 19 points in the third quarter, helping Lincoln to expand the gap to double-digits, 28-17.
Garrett Wolfe knocked down a pair of three-pointers and scored eight points in the fourth quarter, but EHS wasn’t able to cut into the lead. Both teams scored 14 points in the final period.
Wolfe finished with 16 points for the Hearts and Logan Heil added nine.
The Hearts dipped to 9-14 on the season overall and 1-6 in the Apollo Conference. They will play two more games at home this week – Thursday against Mattoon and Saturday against Mahomet-Seymour.
The Effingham Lady Hearts turned in a strong performance Thursday, but still fell at Mattoon, 56-48, in an Apollo Conference contest.
The Lady Green Wave got 32 points from their standout, Mallory Ramage, and stayed atop the conference standings. But the win didn’t come easily.
The Lady Hearts kept the game close throughout. And midway through the fourth quarter, they had the ball with a chance to tie the game. But Ramage hit a three-pointer and went 6-for-6 from the foul line down the stretch to help Mattoon secure the win and improve to 8-1 in league play and 22-2 overall.
The Lady Green Wave led all the way. They were on top 13-9 after the first eight minutes, 26-22 at halftime and 40-34 after three periods.
Meredith Schaefer knocked down five shots from behind the arc and finished with 18 points to lead Effingham in scoring. Sawyer Althoff scored seven and Coralin Ohnesorge added six.
Effingham dipped to 16-8 on the season and also fell to 3-5 in the Apollo Conference. The Lady Hearts will be back in action tonight (Friday) at home against Teutopolis and will then travel to Mahomet-Seymour on Saturday.
Cayla Koerner scored eight of her game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter Saturday afternoon, helping Mahomet-Seymour pull away and post a 48-37 win at home over the Effingham Lady Hearts.
Entering the fourth quarter, the host Lady Bulldogs held a slim 39-35 lead. But Koerner stepped up on the offensive end, while Mahomet-Seymour limited Effingham to just two points on the defensive end. The Lady Hearts only two points of the fourth quarter was a bucket by Madison Mapes.
EHS led 16-14 after the first eight minutes, but the hosts came back to go ahead 27-22 at intermission.
Mapes had a strong game for the Lady Hearts. She connected on five three-pointers and finished with 19 points. She was the only Effingham player to reach double figures.
Effingham dropped to 16-10 on the season and also fell to 3-6 in the Apollo Conference. The Lady Hearts will be back in action Tuesday night at home against Charleston. It will be Senior Night for EHS.
The Effingham Lady Hearts simply “couldn’t buy one” Monday night.
The EHS girls had a cold shooting night, and as a result, dropped a 47-43 decision at home to Taylorville.
Overall, the Lady Hearts made 15-of-54 shots from the floor, which is a cool 28 percent clip. From two-point range, it was even colder, as they connected on just 7-of-35 shots, an icy 20 percent.
To compound their shooting woes, Effingham was 5-for-13 from the foul line.
Those shooting stats alone tell the story.
The Lady Hearts held a slim 7-5 lead after the first quarter, but trailed 19-14 at halftime and 35-27 after three periods. They did outscore the Lady Tornadoes 16-12 in the final eight minutes, but it wasn’t enough.
Meredith Schaefer led EHS with 18 points, but was the only Lady Heart to reach double figures. Ella Niebrugge and Marissa Allie both scored eight.
Effingham dipped to 16-7 on the season and also fell to 3-4 in Apollo Conference play. The Lady Hearts will play three more times this week – Thursday at Mattoon; Friday at home against Teutopolis; and Saturday at Mahomet-Seymour.
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