By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
Talk about a see-saw affair.
Effingham and Mahomet-Seymour took turns playing with the lead and then battling from behind.
But in the final 3½ minutes Thursday night, the Lady Hearts made the most plays down the stretch and came away with a hard-fought 54-48 win at home over the Lady Bulldogs.
“I loved our fight and drive tonight,” said EHS coach Jeff Schafer after his team snapped its six-game losing streak. “We had a chance to fold a couple times, but we didn’t. The girls just kept working, working, working. There was just a different feel out there tonight.”
There was a feeling of victory early in the fourth quarter. Sawyer Althoff made a free throw and Katie Carie scored after grabbing an offensive rebound, giving the Hearts a double-digit lead at 43-33 with 6:19 to play.
But Mahomet-Seymour’s shooting from long range quickly changed that. Savannah Orgeron connected on two from behind the arc and Makayla Rosenberry added another three, and in just 68 seconds, the Lady Bulldogs were within 43-42.
“You know they’re going to bring it,” Schafer said. “They have a good young team that can really shoot it.”
Parker Wolfe and Drew Thompson combined for 54 points Tuesday night, leading the Effingham Hearts to a 69-53 Apollo Conference victory at Taylorville.
Wolfe was 6-for-9 from three-point range and finished with 33 points, while Thompson connected on 5-of-10 from behind the arc and totaled 21 points.
“Parker and Drew both shot really well tonight,” EHS coach Obie Farmer said. “They both filled it up and did so from the beginning.”
Wolfe had 10 points and Drew Thompson five in the opening eight minutes and the Hearts opened an 18-12 lead. By halftime, it was a 32-24 advantage. Nate Thompson was out most of the first half due to foul problems, but Farmer noted the play of Dylan Ritz.
“He came off the bench and made an immediate impact,” the EHS coach noted. “He dominated the boards in the first half, getting 7 of our 11 rebounds. He was comfortable with the ball, attacked the basket and kicked it to open shooters. Dylan tends to do the things that aren’t in the scorebook. He’s an effort guy and I love those kinds of guys.”
The 19th annual Effingham Girls Basketball Round Robin is set.
Vandalia and Centralia will join the Lady Hearts in the three-team event. Games are scheduled for Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, Jan. 20, 21 and 23.
Here is the round robin schedule:
Monday, Jan. 20 – 6 p.m. – Effingham vs. Vandalia
Tuesday, Jan. 21 – 6 p.m. – Vandalia vs. Centralia
Thursday, Jan. 23 – 6 p.m. – Effingham vs. Centralia
The Paris Lady Tigers proved why they are one of the best teams in the state this year.
They knocked down 13 three-point shots, grabbed a quick lead and rolled to a 65-32 win at home Monday night over Effingham.
Six different girls connected from behind the arc. Sarah Isaf had four of those and finished with a game-high 22 points to help the Lady Tigers improve to 22-0. They are ranked No. 2 in the Class 2A poll.
Paris built an 18-5 lead after the first eight minutes and stretched its advantage to 39-15 at halftime.
Hayley Diveley scored 11 points and Annie Frost added 10 for the EHS.
The Lady Hearts, now 7-11 on the season, will return home Thursday night to face Mahomet-Seymour.
The Effingham and Teutopolis boys will both compete in the 69th annual Salem Invitational Basketball Tournament, which is scheduled to begin Wednesday, Jan. 22.
East St. Louis, Highland, Salem, Carbondale, Mt. Vernon and Thornton Fractional North will also participate in the four-day event.
Both the Hearts and Shoes will open play Thursday, Jan. 23. Effingham will play Mt. Vernon at 6:30 p.m. and T-Town will face Fractional North at 8 p.m.
The tournament will continue on Friday, Jan. 24, and conclude Saturday, Jan. 25.
If the Hearts and/or Shoes win their opener, they will play at 8 p.m. Friday. A loss would send them into the 1 p.m. game on Saturday. Every team is guaranteed three games in the event.
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