By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
The Alton Redbirds jumped ahead early and never looked back.
They used their quickness and athleticism to apply tough defensive pressure and that provided positive results.
The Redbirds forced eight first-quarter turnovers, converted five of those into baskets and built a double-digit lead in the first three minutes of the game Saturday afternoon.
When it was over, the team from the Metro East Conference had posted a 69-37 victory over Effingham in the third game of the 11th annual Teutopolis Wooden Shoes Shootout.
Six of those eight turnovers came in opening 3½ minutes. And as the steals mounted, so did Alton’s lead. The shooting of Semaj Stampley was also a factor. The sophomore guard hit four shots, including three from behind the arc, to help the Redbirds race to the quick lead.
His third basket from long range, made it 17-2 at the 4:32 mark of the first period.
The Effingham Lady Hearts will take a 10-game winning streak into the postseason.
They notched their 10th straight win Saturday with a low-scoring 38-29 Apollo Conference decision at Mt. Zion.
The Lady Hearts did shoot well, connecting on just 11-of-32 attempts overall, a 34 percent clip. But they made enough shots to secure the win and head into the postseason with a lot of momentum.
Effingham started strong. Averie Wolfe connected on a three-pointer and scored seven points, helping the Lady Hearts build a 13-5 lead after the opening eight minutes. The margin stayed about the same the rest of the game. EHS led 23-15 at halftime and 29-22 after three quarters.
Wolfe finished with a game-high 13 points.
The Lady Hearts improved to 26-4 overall and finished conference play with a 7-3 mark, good enough for a second place finish.
Now its postseason time. The Lady Hearts are the No. 2 seed in the Salem Regional and will open play at 6 p.m. Monday against either Salem or Troy Triad.
The Charleston Trojans used a run to close out the first half to take the lead and then turned in a dominant third quarter to pull away and post a 67-41 win at home Tuesday night over Effingham.
The Hearts fell behind 12-1 in the early going, but responded by going on a 15-0 scoring surge. Ethan Jones scored six points and KJ Kellams added four, helping Effingham go on top, 16-12.
But the Trojans went on a 17-5 surge to take a 29-21 lead to the locker room at intermission. The hosts then outscored EHS 19-6 in the third quarter to increase the margin to 48-27.
Nolan Fearday led Effingham with 10 points.
The Hearts dipped to 3-25 overall and 1-8 in the Apollo Conference. They will return to action Saturday in the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes Shootout. Effingham will play Alton at 3:30 p.m.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
With a big conference game and regular season finale the next night, Jeff Schafer didn’t know what to expect.
Wednesday night’s matchup with Olney could have easily been one of those “gotcha” situations.
But the Effingham Lady Hearts didn’t let that happen.
They built a double-digit lead early and then cruised to a 55-23 win at home.
“The girls were razor-focused from the beginning,” Schafer said. “They came out ready to play. They made a great defensive stand on the very first possession and that set the tone. Our defense was really, really good tonight.”
The Lady Tigers like to shoot three-pointers. The EHS defense limited them to just 11 attempts from behind the arc and only two went in.
“To hold that team to just two threes is something,” Schafer noted. “Coming into the game, I thought if we held them to five or fewer, that would be really good. I thought we did a great job defending that.”
Olney didn’t get off a single shot from three-point range in the first quarter, and by the time those first eight minutes ended, the host Lady Hearts were in control.
Sidney Donaldson hit three shots to provide an offensive spark for EHS. Averie Wolfe knocked down a three and Saige Althoff scored four points. The Lady Hearts used an 11-2 run to close out the period and build a 15-4 advantage.
The Effingham Lady Hearts are in hopes of adding their first regional championship since winning three straight in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
A year ago, the Lady Hearts reached the championship game of the Class 3A Mattoon Regional, but were defeated by the Lady Green Wave in a close game.
This year, EHS will enter as the No. 2 seed in the Salem Regional and play its opening game on Monday, Feb. 12. The Lady Hearts will face either Salem or Troy Triad at 6 p.m.
The regional championship is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 15.
The winner will advance to the Effingham Sectional. Regional winners from Charleston, Carbondale and Waterloo will also advance to the Effingham Sectional, which will begin on Tuesday, Feb. 20.
Here is the complete schedule for the Salem Regional.
Saturday, Feb. 10
Game 1 –1 p.m. – No. 7 Salem at No. 6 Troy Triad
Monday, Feb. 12
Game 2 – 6 p.m. – No. 2 Effingham vs. Winner Game 1
Game 3 – 7:30 p.m. – No. 3 Bethalto Civic Memorial vs. No. 5 Centralia
Friday, Feb. 17
Game 4 – 7 p.m. – Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3 (championship)
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