By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
If you only had to count the second half, the Effingham Lady Heats might be undefeated this year.
Unfortunately, the first two periods factor in as well.
And for some reason, those first 16 minutes have been problematic.
Take Tuesday night’s game against Lincoln. EHS managed just 15 points and trailed by 26 – 41-15 – at halftime. The Lady Hearts then played a terrific second half before dropping a 49-40 decision.
It was a similar story Saturday.
Effingham made just 3-of-28 shots and turned the ball over 13 times. As a result, Charleston owned a comfortable 30-7 advantage at intermission.
But once again, the EHS girls came out of the locker room and looked like a different team. They trimmed the lead back to nine before eventually falling to the Lady Trojans, 52-36.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
It was a clash between the top two teams in the Apollo Conference.
And it did not disappoint.
The Effingham Hearts led by as many as 16 points in the second half, but Lincoln staged a furious fourth quarter rally to tie the game and send it into overtime.
But in the extra period, Parker Wolfe scored eight points, including five clutch free throws in the final 36 seconds to give the Hearts a thrilling 53-52 overtime win Friday night at home.
“Whew,” EHS coach Obie Farmer said moments after the game. “What a big, big win for us. This should be a real confidence booster for us. Lincoln has been put on a pedestal in our conference. I think this is only their second conference loss in the last three or four years. Like I said. This is a big win.”
But it almost went from a “thrill of victory” feeling to an “agony of defeat” moment.
Starting the fourth quarter, the Hearts were on top 41-29. But the Hearts missed their first four shots and turned the ball over five times and the Railsplitters took advantage. Senior point guard Dylan Singleton was pretty much a one-man show. He made two jump shots and converted 7-of-8 free throws, sparking a 14-0 scoring run that put the guests ahead, 43-41, with 1:47 to play.
Parker Wolfe drove to the basket for the game-tying score just 22 seconds later and Lincoln held for a final shot. And Singleton got a good shot about five feet from the basket. His shot looked good, but rattled in and out. Jacob Stoneburner grabbed the rebound and the teams headed to overtime.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
Everybody knows about Effingham’s one-two punch of Nate Thompson and Parker Wolfe.
The pair of seniors are both averaging over 20 points and present defensive challenges for opposing coaches.
And while both had good games Tuesday night, it was the supporting cast that made the difference.
Garrett Wolfe, Dalton Fox and Jacob Stoneburner combined to score 26 points and grab 11 rebounds and help the Effingham Flaming Hearts post a 68-54 Apollo Conference victory at home over rival Teutopolis.
“That was a big one,” EHS coach Obie Farmer said. “Our two teams match up pretty well. They can shoot and score, and they play hard and do stuff the right way. They’re similar to us.”
The third quarter proved to be key. The Hearts held a 34-29 halftime edge and then came out and took control in the first three minutes of the second half. Garrett Wolfe scored five points, Stoneburner knocked down his third 3-pointer of the game and Thompson capped the 12-1 scoring run with a pair of free throws, extending the EHS lead to 46-30.
It was 54-41 heading into the final eight minutes. A basket by Max Niebrugge trimmed the lead to 11 to open the fourth quarter, but the Shoes were unable to get any closer. Fox drained a big three and Parker Wolfe went 4-for-4 from the foul stripe to keep the Hearts comfortably in front.
It was a tale of two halves.
The Lincoln Lady Railsplitters torched the nets from long range in the first half and built a 26-point lead.
Effingham then responded with a furious rally in the final two quarters, but the deficit proved too much to make up, as the Lady Hearts dropped a 49-40 decision at home Thursday night.
Kloe Froebe and Ryen Stoltzenburg combined to knock down nine 3-pointers in the first 16 minutes. Froebe had five and scored 23 points and Stoltzenburg added four from behind the arc and netted 12. At halftime, Lincoln had a seemingly comfortable 41-15 advantage.
To the Lady Hearts credit, they didn’t give up. They outscored the Lady Railsplitters 11-4 in the third period and 14-4 in the final eight minutes to close the gap considerably.
Froebe had six of Lincoln’s eight second-half points and finished with 29. Stoltzenbrug didn’t score in the second half.
Annie Frost led Effingham with 17 points and Ella Niebrugge scored nine.
The Lady Hearts dipped to 2-3 overall and 2-1 in the Apollo Conference. They will return to action Saturday with a home game against Charleston and then travel to Mahomet-Seymour on Monday.
Effingham’s one-two punch was at it again Saturday afternoon.
Parker Wolfe and Nate Thompson combined to score more points than the opponent, as they torched the nets for 53 in the Hearts’ 74-49 victory at Casey-Westfield.
“They’re tough to contain,” said EHS coach Obie Farmer. “Nate was really efficient, especially from the three-point line, and Parker just keeps doing his thing.”
And in the second half, that “thing” was pretty much playing with just one eye. Just a few seconds before intermission, he split his eyebrow open while going for a loose ball.
“He played the entire second half with one eye okay and a piece of gauze over the other eye,” Farmer noted. “You just can’t keep him out of the game.”
He still scored 13 of his game-high 27 points in the final two periods, while Thompson, who connected on 5 of the team’s 10 three-pointers, poured in 20 of his 26 after intermission.
The Hearts were in control from the beginning. Casey-Westfield was playing its first game of the season and it showed. While the Warriors were having difficulty scoring, Effingham just continued to increase its lead.
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