The Effingham Lady Hearts returned to the win column Thursday night, traveling to Mt. Zion and coming home with a 49-47 Apollo Conference victory.
The game was close throughout. The Lady Braves led 15-11 after the opening eight minutes, but Effingham got seven points from Taylor Armstrong in the second period to take a slim 23-21 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Ella Niebrugge connected on a three-pointer and scored five points and Annie Frost added a couple buckets, as the Lady Hearts increased their lead to 37-33 heading into the fourth period.
Mt. Zion freshman Denver Anderson poured in 12 of her game-high 25 points in the final eight minutes, but EHS was able to hang on and come away with the two-point win.
The Lady Hearts placed three players in double figures. Armstrong led the way with 17 points, while Niebrugge finished with 14 and Frost added 11.
The Lady Hearts improved to 3-5 overall and 3-4 in league play. They are scheduled to play at home Monday night against Taylorville.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
“An ugly win is always better than a pretty loss.”
When asked to describe Wednesday night’s Apollo Conference game at Mahomet-Seymour, those were the first words Effingham coach Obie Farmer said.
The same words any other coach in any other sport would echo.
The end result – a 71-62 victory – was what mattered.
The fact that the Hearts let a pair of double-digit leads evaporate, didn’t play well on defense and got out-rebounded by a rather substantial margin, are all things the team can work on.
When the final buzzer sounded, Effingham was still undefeated, still sitting atop the league standings and their No. 10 ranking in the Class 3A poll was secure.
But it didn’t come easy.
After baskets by Nate Thompson and Garrett Wolfe to open the fourth quarter, the Hearts had that double-digit advantage, 58-48. But the Bulldogs got back-to-back buckets from Luke Koller and then five points from Eli Warren, including a three-pointer, that capped a 12-4 surge and narrowed the gap to 62-60 with 2:26 to play.
But down the stretch, it was all Effingham. Thompson followed with a three and Jacob Stoneburner scored the final seven points as the Hearts ended the game on a 9-2 run.
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
For 28 of the 32 minutes, the Effingham and Mahomet-Seymour girls played on even terms.
After 22 minutes, the Lady Bulldogs held a slim 32-31 lead. Over the final six minutes of the Apollo Conference contest, the Lady Hearts outscored the hosts 16-12.
But it was those four minutes in-between that made all the difference.
Over the last two minutes of the third quarter and the opening two minutes of the fourth period, Effingham missed all five of its shots and turned the ball over three times.
And Mahomet-Seymour capitalized, rattling off 14 unanswered points, en route to a 56-47 decision Wednesday night. The game was originally scheduled to be played Monday night, but was postponed because of weather.
“It’s so disappointing,” EHS coach Jeff Schafer said. “We cut the lead to one and had a chance to take the lead. But we didn’t even get a shot. We turned the ball. Then we had more turnovers, and to their credit, they made us pay for that by cashing those mistakes in for points. We just didn’t take care of the ball.”
The Lady Bulldogs led by as many as seven points, 29-22, after the first three minutes of the second half. But Annie Frost scored back-to-back baskets – both after grabbing offensive rebounds – to start a 9-3 run for the Lady Hearts.
Taylor Armstrong hit a short jumper and Ella Niebrugge drilled a three-pointer to get EHS within 32-31at the 2:28 mark.
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.
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