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.

Meredith Schaefer knocked down a pair of three-pointers in the fourth quarter, and Ella Niebrugge added another from long range, helping the Effingham Lady Hearts expand their lead down the stretch and clinch the championship of the Vandalia Mid-Winter Girls Basketball Tournament with a 51-44 victory Friday night over Mascoutah.

The Hearts held a slim 37-36 advantage heading into the final eight minutes. In addition to the three buckets from long range, Niebrugge added a pair of free throws, Madison Mapes hit a jumper and Saige Althoff made a charity toss, helping the EHS girls outscore Mascoutah 14-8 and finish with a sweep of their four games in the round robin tourney.

The Lady Indians broke on top early and led 14-8 after the first period. Niebrugge, who connected on six three-pointers in the game, made two in the second quarter. Schaefer added another from behind the arc and scored five points and Marissa Allie added four more as the Lady Hearts went on a 19-7 scoring surge and took a 27-21 lead at intermission.

Niebrugge had two more threes in the third quarter, but Mascoutah was able to close to within one point heading into the fourth period.

Niebrugge finished with 20 points to lead all scorers and Schaefer added 16.

Effingham, which improved to 16-6 on the season, will be back in action Monday, playing host to Taylorville in an Apollo Conference matchup.

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.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Obie Farmer was all smiles Saturday night.

And why not?

His Effingham Hearts had just accomplished what few – including himself – was not anticipating.

The Hearts, who blew out Thornton Fractional North earlier in the day, came back and defeated Champaign Central, 48-41, to claim the consolation championship of the 70^th annual Salem Invitational Basketball Tournament.

“If someone told me we would come here and win two games against this type of competition, I don’t know if I would have believed them,” Farmer admitted. “But these kids deserve it. They worked their tails off and I am very proud of them.”

It came down to executing down the stretch, an aspect of the game the Hearts have struggled with several times this season. But not Saturday night.

Garrett Wolfe knocked down a big three, Logan Heil scored four points and Andrew Spelchter came off the bench to hit two late clutch buckets, helping the Hearts secure the victory.

The Maroons jumped out to a 13-10 lead after the opening eight minutes and still held a slim 19-18 edge at intermission.

But the Hearts came out of the locker room and went on a 10-3 run to build a six-point advantage, 28-22. Champaign Central scored five straight points to tie the game at 30-30, but Wolfe drilled a three at the buzzer, sending EHS into the final period with a 33-30 edge.

Freshman Chris Bush scored for the Maroons to open the fourth period to get within one, but they never were able to tie the game or take the lead. Again, it was Wolfe – who had led all scorers with 18 points and tallied 48 points in the two games Saturday – that hit from long range, followed by a basket by Heil to make it 38-32.

After Bush connected on a three for Champaign Central, Heil and Jett Volpi scored back-to-back buckets to expand the margin to seven points, 42-35, at the 4:17 mark.

After the Maroons got within five, Splechter scored on consecutive possessions to give EHS its largest lead of the game, 46-38. Dwayne Hubbard made a three to get Champaign Central within 46-41 with 2:02 to play, but the Maroons were unable to score again.

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