The Effingham Lady Hearts outscored Altamont 34-10 in the second half Monday night, en route to a 58-29 victory in an opening-round game of the Bob Kerans Thanksgiving Tournament in Newton.

The Lady Indians kept the game close in the first half and trailed by just five points, 24-19, at intermission.

But Sydney Donaldson and Alyssa Martin both scored six points in the third quarter, helping Effingham go on an 18-6 run to open a double-digit lead. The Lady Hearts then outscored Altamont 16-4 in the final eight minutes to end with the 29-point decision.

Martin led three EHS players in double figures, finishing with 17 points. Bella Austin scored 11 and Donaldson added 10. Kylee Osteen had nine points for the Lady Indians.

The Lady Hearts, now 3-0 on the young season, will return to tournament action at 6 p.m. Wednesday. They will play Flora.

The Effingham Lady Hearts opened their 2024-25 season on a winning note Monday night, posting a 58-33 win at Robinson.

Averie Wolfe and Alyssa Martin combined for 20 first-half points, helping the Lady Hearts build a 36-17 advantage at intermission. Effingham then outscored the Lady Maroons 22-16 in the second half to secure the victory.

Wolfe finished with 16 points and Martin added 14 to lead the EHS scoring attack. Bella Austin chipped in with eight and Sydney Donaldson had seven.

The Lady Hearts will return to action Friday night at Dieterich. It could be a big night for Effingham coach Jeff Schafer. His next victory will be the 500^th in his career.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

The game was over.

The two teams had gone through the “hand shake” line.

A few of the fans had started filing out.

But then the announcer started talking and offering congratulations. Suddenly, all eyes were fixated on the man in the red shirt standing in the middle of the gym at Dieterich High School.

Not many coaches last 26 years. And even fewer at the same school.

But Jeff Schafer is one that has. He took over a program 2½ decades ago that was in desperate need of a turnaround -- and proved to be the perfect man for the job.

His first team went 5-19, but after that, the wins began to pile up. In his 10^th season, he became Effingham High School’s all-time winningest girls’ basketball coach. Two seasons ago, he became the school’s all-time winningest coach period – surpassing Jim Maxedon’s 458-win total as coach of the boys’ team during his 24-year career.

On Friday night, Schafer reached yet another coaching milestone – notching the 500^th win of his career – and all accomplished while coaching and guiding the Lady Hearts basketball program.

“I thank God for putting me in the right spot,” Schafer said moments after the brief ceremony. “When they first asked me to do this, I said ‘no.’ But here we are all these days and years later, and I still love it.”

It won’t go down as the prettiest win in his career, but when the final horn sounded, Effingham had its second win of the young season, a 68-33 decision over the Lady Maroons.

The game was never in doubt. In fact, the Lady Hearts never trailed.

After Averie Wolfe knocked down a three and Saige Althoff converted a Dieterich turnover into a bucket, EHS had its first double-digit lead late in the opening quarter.

Bella Austin, Sydney Donaldson, Alyssa Martin and then Austin again scored to open the second period and extend the lead to 24-8. Later, Wolfe and Bria Beals connected from behind the arc, Donaldson added a pair of buckets and Althoff completed the 12-0 run with a short jumper to expand the gap to 38-12.

It was 38-15 at halftime.

“We did get off to a bit of a sluggish start,” Schafer admitted. “I thought we passed up some easy shots. We were actually too unselfish. But it’s hard to get mad at the girls for being unselfish. Overall, I thought we played okay.”

A three by Tessa Raddatz and then two in a row by Beals made it a 30-point cushion, 54-22, late in the third quarter. It was then just a matter of playing out the clock to notch a career win very few coaches get to experience.

“I’ve been reflecting a lot these last couple days,” Schafer noted. “The coaches I’ve had, all the kids that have played here and the supporters that have come out and watched us play.

“My family has always been very supportive,” the veteran coach added. “It takes a lot of people to build a program like this.”

Schafer, who is in his 27^th year as the EHS head coach, now has an overall record of 500-264.

It was also a milestone result for Effingham girls basketball overall. It was the program’s 700^th victory since beginning in the 1979-80 season.

“For me, it all starts with my assistant coaches,” Schafer said. “We’re all on the same page. I’m so fortunate to have this group with me. They make it fun to come to practice every day.

“And we’ve had so many great players come through,” the coach added. “The kids come to work and they buy in to our program and how we run it. If they’re willing to put the work in, they’ll be better players when they leave the program.”

This year’s team figures to be an outstanding one. The Lady Hearts were 29-5 a year ago and their top six players are all back.

On Friday night, they showed the type of balanced scoring attack that will make them difficult to beat. Martin and Wolfe both had 11 points, while Beals scored nine, Donaldson and Althoff added eight, Raddatz chipped in seven and Austin had five.

Brittney Niemerg led Dieterich with a game-high 17 points.

The Lady Hearts, now 2-0, will play next week in the Bob Kerans Thanksgiving Tournament in Newton. They will play Altamont at 6 p.m. Monday; Flora at 6 p.m. Wednesday; and Newton at 1:30 p.m. Friday.

“I’m in such a better place now than when I first started coaching,” Schafer explained. “Back then, it was all about getting a win. But as the years went by, I got smarter. I got better at building relationships and learned to enjoy the game and coaching much more.

“Now, the most important thing to me is helping the girls enjoy playing basketball and playing together,” Schafer added. “All these years later, I still love doing this. I thank God every day that I get to work with these assistant coaches and I get to coach this team. They’re a special group.”

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

In a close, down-to-the-wire type of game, it normally comes down to a key shot or turnover in the waning seconds that makes the difference.

But to Effingham Coach Jeff Schafer, it was a 90-second stretch in the second quarter that proved critical Thursday night.

“Three times, we got lost in transition and they made three three-pointers,” the veteran coach explained. “We just didn’t communicate and left them open. I had to use three of my timeouts to try to stop the run. You take those three baskets away and it just might have been a different story tonight.”

Those three baskets from behind the arc gave Highland a 15-point lead – a lead they never relinquished.

But the Lady Hearts made a gallant comeback in the second half and had two opportunities late to either tie or even win the game.

A turnover and a missed three at the buzzer, however, didn’t allow that to happen.

As a result, the Lady Hearts saw their outstanding season come to an end, as the Lady Bulldogs escaped with a 34-31 victory in the championship game of the Class 3A Effingham Sectional.

Highland, now 25-10, will host the super sectional game. The Lady Bulldogs will face Chatham Glenwood at 7 p.m. Monday.

Highland owned an 11-6 lead midway through the second quarter. A three-pointer by Payton Frey started the decisive scoring surge. Jordan Bircher and Larissa Taylor also connected from long range and Bircher converted an EHS turnover into another basket to complete the 11-1 run and give the Lady Bulldogs a 22-7 advantage.

A long three-pointer by Sidney Donaldson at the buzzer got Effingham to within 22-11 at intermission.

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