By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
For nearly three quarters, the Effingham Lady Hearts gave heavily-favored Sacred Heart Giffin all it wanted.
But when a team misses its first six shots of a game and then its last 12, that generally doesn’t produce a successful result.
Well, that’s exactly what transpired Monday afternoon.
The Lady Hearts simply couldn’t score with any kind of consistency. And tallying only two free throws in the fourth period allowed the Lady Cyclones to pull away and post a 45-25 victory in the third place game of the Charleston Girls Holiday Tournament.
“Our effort was great,” EHS coach Jeff Schafer said. “We played very good defense, we rebounded well and we ran our offense well. We just missed shots; a lot of them.”
Midway through the third period, the Lady Hearts were only three points down, 22-19. But from that point on, they made only 2 of their final 15 shots.
Jillian Hulcher hit a pair of free throws that started a 7-0 run that built SHG’s first double-digit lead, 29-19. Callie Feldhake hit a shot right at the end of the quarter for the Lady Hearts to keep it a 10-point spread, 33-23, heading into the final eight minutes.
Sophie Lowis, an all-tournament selection for the Lady Cyclones, had been held in check for most of the game. But she scored eight straight points to open the final period – six of those coming on SHG’s only two 3-pointers of the game – and the margin ballooned to 18 points, 41-23, at the 4:32 mark.
Lincoln Way East outscored Chicago Corliss 29-21 during the middle two quarters Saturday night and went on to post a 56-50 victory and claim the championship of the 7th annual Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic.
The Griffins, who got past Oak Lawn in a semifinal clash Friday night, finished the tournament 4-0 that also included wins over Mattoon and Pleasant Plains.
Ty Slager had a big game for LWE. The senior guard pumped in 23 points to lead all scorers. Ryan Sucha added 16 points for the winners. Na’shawn Townsen and Jadon Williams both scored 13 points for Corliss, who was in the championship game for the second time in three years. The Trojans won the tournament in 2017.
In the third place game, Trey Ward poured in 32 points to lead Oak Lawn to a 69-64 double overtime victory over Champaign Centennial.
The Spartans held a 32-20 halftime lead, but Centennial outscored Oak Lawn 28-16 in the second half to force the overtime. Both teams scored four points in the first extra session, but the Spartans then had a 17-12 scoring edge in the second overtime.
Fifth place went to Pleasant Plains, who is coached by former Teutopolis standout Kyle Weber. The Cardinals used a 19-9 third quarter scoring advantage to help post a 69-57 decision over Central A&M.
Justin Guernsey scored 35 points to lead Pleasant Plains, while Griffin Andricks and Connor Heaton poured in 24 and 21 points respectively.
Here are the other scores from the final games Saturday:
Consolation Championship – Sacred Heart Griffin 64, Teutopolis 56
7th Place Game – Effingham 76, Chicago Brooks 47
11th Place Game – St. Anthony 36, Antioch 33
13th Place Game – Charleston 50, Lawrenceville 40
15th Place Game – Mattoon 58, Dixon 46
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
Obie Farmer was concerned about playing a morning game Saturday.
“I’ve had some experience coaching morning games,” he said. “Whatever team shows up with the most energy is going to have the advantage. That’s just the way morning games are and we kept reminding the guys about that.”
Those reminders must have worked.
Despite playing a fourth game in three days, the Effingham Flaming Hearts did have plenty of energy and dominated from the opening tip. They built a quick early lead and rolled to a 76-47 victory over Chicago Brooks in their final game of the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic.
The Hearts finished 2-2 in the tourney and earned a seventh place finish in the 16-team field.
“We were ready to go from the very beginning, but I sure didn’t expect a lopsided game,” Farmer noted. “We prepared like it would be a battle all the way to the end. We had the kids watch film on Brooks so they could see what to expect. And then we went out and played very well.”
Nate Thompson got a tip-in basket just nine seconds into the game. It was just the beginning of a monster game for the 6’5” junior forward. He had eight points in the opening quarter, Parker Wolfe had a pair of 3-pointers and Brayden Pals added another from long range, helping the Hearts build a 17-3 lead after the first eight minutes.
The Effingham Lady Hearts have posted a 2-2 record in the Charleston Girls Holiday Basketball Tournament and will play for third place Monday afternoon.
After an opening-round loss to Teutopolis, EHS defeated Charleston and Cairo, before falling to undefeated Paris Saturday night.
Against the host Lady Trojans Friday night, who are playing without their standout player, Shea Littleford, EHS jumped out to a quick lead and rolled to a 55-22 victory.
The Lady Hearts raced to a 15-4 lead after eight minutes, led 23-10 at halftime and expanded the margin to 41-19 after three quarters.
They had three players in double figures, led by Annie Frost’s 14 points. Hayley Diveley scored 11 and Taylor Armstrong added 10.
“We bounced back nicely in the late game,” EHS coach Jeff Schafer said. “We played a lot better, cut down our turnovers and rebounded well. Our bench came in and did a nice job, too.”
Here are the scores from all games Friday:
St. Anthony 70, Mattoon 63 (overtime)
Antioch 44, Charleston 43
Teutopolis 62, Lawrenceville 30
Sacred Heart Griffin 73, Dixon 52
Lincoln Way East 49, Pleasant Plains 38
Champaign Centennial 46, Central A&M 40
Oak Lawn 61, Chicago Brooks 46
Chicago Corliss 55, Effingham 34
Teutopolis 62, St. Anthony 49
Sacred Heart Griffin 61, Antioch 48
Lawrenceville 75, Mattoon 72
Pleasant Plains 44, Chicago Brooks 42
Charleston 69, Dixon 66
Central A&M 75, Effingham 51
Lincoln Way East 70, Oak Lawn 67
Chicago Corliss 48, Champaign Centennial 29
Here is the schedule for Saturday (all games will be played at Effingham High School):
10 a.m. – Mattoon vs. Dixon (auxiliary gym for 15th place)
10 a.m. – St. Anthony vs. Antioch (main gym for 11th place)
11:30 a.m. – Lawrenceville vs. Charleston (auxiliary gym for 13th place)
11:30 a.m. – Effingham vs. Chicago Brooks (main gym for 7th place)
3 p.m. – Central A&M vs. Pleasant Plains (5th place game)
4:30 p.m. – Teutopolis vs. Sacred Heart Griffin (consolation championship)
6 p.m. – Oak Lawn vs. Champaign Centennial (3rd place game)
7:30 p.m. – Chicago Corliss vs. Lincoln Way East (championship game)
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