By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
If shooting percentage was the only stat that determined the outcome of a basketball game, the Effingham Lady Hearts would have been in trouble.
Whether it’s shooting from behind the arc or virtually from point-blank range, the Effingham girls have had difficulty hitting shots with any kind of consistency so far this season.
Such was the case again Saturday afternoon.
Thankfully, other phases of the game are also important. Things like rebounding and defense. The Lady Hearts flourished in those two areas.
Effingham held a commanding 46-24 edge on the boards and its aggressive, scrappy defense forced 24 turnovers.
That combination, plus just enough offensive spurts, proved to be enough, as the Lady Hearts posted a 52-40 victory over Hillsboro in the championship game of the Vandalia Mid-Winter Classic.
It was the second straight year – and the third time in four years – Effingham brought home the first place plaque from this tournament.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
The flu bug has just about run its course when it comes to the Effingham Lady Hearts.
Finally.
That “bug” hit this team hard the past couple weeks. It look more like a MASH unit.
“These girls have been sick,” EHS coach Jeff Schafer explained. “I think everybody in our top six, but Averie (Wolfe), has had it. Hopefully, we’re getting better.”
A “recovering” Lady Hearts team put together a couple of scoring runs to build a first half lead Thursday night and then cruised to a 51-33 victory over Salem in a semifinal game of the Vandalia Mid-Winter Girls Basketball Tournament.
The Lady Hearts will now face Hillsboro for the tournament championship. That game is scheduled to tipoff at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Bria Beals and Alyssa Martin both hit jumpers and Bella Austin and Averie Wolfe made free throws, helping EHS jump out to a 7-0 lead. The lead was never less than three points the rest of the way.
The Lady Hearts led 10-5 after the opening eight minutes and it was still a five-point margin, 12-7, early in the second quarter. But a jumper by Austin started the decisive 12-2 scoring surge that put Effingham in total control.
Donaldson scored twice, Wolfe knocked down a three, Martin hit a pair of foul shots and Beals added another from the line, completing the burst and putting the Lady Hearts ahead, 24-9, with 1:56 left in the first half.
It was still a 15-point spread, 27-12, when the teams headed to the locker room at halftime.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
For the second time in three games, the Effingham Hearts were in position to notch their seventh win of the season.
But for the second time in three games, turnovers, rebounds and the inability to hit shots prevented that from happening.
The Dieterich Maroons, who trailed by nine points at halftime, used their aggressive defense to force turnovers and spark a comeback, resulting in a 49-42 victory at EHS gymnasium.
The Hearts were still on top by seven points when Brock Niemerg knocked down a three-pointer just before the third quarter buzzer sounded to get the Maroons to within 32-28.
In the first 3½ minutes of the final period, the Hearts missed four shots and turned the ball over four times. They had 13 turnovers in the second half. Like good teams will do, Dieterich took advantage, rattling off eight straight points to take a 36-32 lead -- its first lead since 3-0 in the opening minute of the game.
The Maroons didn’t trail again.
“Too many times, we either had our dribble get picked or we were sloppy with the basketball,” said EHS coach Mack Thompson. “Even in the first half, we made some ill-advised passes. We’re still not reading the defense, even this far into the season. We get a little physicality against us and we get loose with the ball.
“And when we did take care of the basketball, we either didn’t take some opens shots or missed some good looks,” Thompson added. “We even missed a couple layups that would have really helped us. There are just too many self-inflicted mistakes.”
The Effingham Hearts ran into a hot team Wednesday night.
The Centralia Orphans knocked down nine three-pointers and rolled to their 11th straight win, a 68-29 decision over Effingham in an opening-round game of the Salem Invitational Basketball Tournament.
Two baskets by Jake Niebrugge kept the Hearts close, 5-4, three minutes into the contest. But the Orphans converted three straight turnovers into scores, the last a three from Jaxson Hancock that completed a 9-0 run and made it 14-4.
The game-deciding stretch, however, started a couple minutes later. A jumper by Devin Meier and a putback by Dustyn Collins just ahead of the buzzer, gave the Orphans a 14-point advantage, 21-7, after the first eight minutes.
But that was only the beginning of a lengthy scoring run.
The next four minutes was all Centralia. Three more turnovers by EHS were each converted into points. Meier turned in a three-point play and scored five points, Collins added a pair of short jumpers and Archie Goewey connected from long range. A pair of free throws by Hancock completed the 22-0 scoring spree and put the Orphans comfortably ahead, 39-7.
The Effingham Lady Hearts began tournament play in impressive fashion Monday morning.
EHS built an early lead and then cruised to a 62-23 victory over Greenville in an opening-round game of the Vandalia Invitational Tournament.
The Lady Hearts led 17-8 after the first eight minutes and expanded their advantage to 37-11 at halftime. An 18-7 scoring edge in the third period ballooned the margin to 35 points. Heading into the final quarter, EHS owned a lopsided 55-18 lead.
Sidney Donaldson led all scorers with 15 points and Alyssa Martin added 10.
The Lady Hearts, now 16-5 for the season, will return to tournament action Thursday. They will face Salem at 7:30 p.m.
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