The Mascoutah Lady Indians grabbed an early lead and maintained it throughout, finishing with a 50-39 victory Saturday afternoon over the Effingham Lady Hearts in the championship game of the Vandalia Mid-Winter Tournament.
Mascoutah led 15-11 after the first eight minutes, but extended it to 32-23 at halftime. It was a 12-point margin after three periods, 45-33.
Sophia Loden led Mascoutah and all scorers with 20 points. Annelise Beck added 12 points for the Lady Indians, who improved to 14-6 on the season.
Bria Beals led Effingham with 11 points, while Madison Mapes and Ella Niebrugge both had seven.
The Lady Hearts dropped to 16-7 overall. They will return to action Thursday with a home game against Mattoon.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
Whew!
What was a 17-point lead and looked like an easy win turned into anything but that Saturday afternoon for the Effingham Hearts.
Salem’s zone press forced seven fourth-quarter turnovers and the Wildcats responded by converting several of those into points at the offensive end. They actually led for all of 25 seconds.
But Logan Heil got a great assist from Gunner Brown and scored what proved to be the winning basket with just 11 seconds remaining.
Salem got off a shot before the buzzer, but it was off-target and the Hearts survived, posting a 48-47 victory.
EHS will now play for the consolation championship of the Salem Invitational Basketball Tournament later today (Saturday). The Hearts will face Champaign Central at 5 p.m.
With just two minutes left in the third quarter, it looked as if the Hearts would roll to their ninth win of the season. Andrew Donaldson’s three-pointer had capped a 9-0 run and gave EHS a seemingly comfortable 37-20 lead.
But the Wildcats then employed a 1-2-2 zone press and the game quickly turned. Conner Tennyson scored after grabbing an offensive rebound and Jairen Stroud converted a turnover into a three-pointer that got Salem to within 38-27 by the end of the period and ignited a big comeback.
By Steve Raymond
ET News Report
Madison Mapes had four three-pointers in the first five minutes of the game to help the Effingham Lady Hearts grab an early lead.
And then with the game on the line, she went 6-for-6 from the foul line in the final 53 seconds to help her team secure a victory.
Mapes had a terrific game at both ends of the floor. The senior point guard knocked down seven shots from behind the arc and finished with 27 points. In addition, she pulled down 11 rebounds to complete the double-double.
The combination of all that was a key reason the Lady Hearts came away with a 55-46 win Thursday night in a semifinal game of the Vandalia Mid-Winter Tournament.
Effingham will now face Mascoutah for the tournament championship. That game is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Mapes missed all four of her shots from inside the arc, but behind it, she was on fire, finishing 7-for-8. That included a 4-for-4 start. Her fourth three gave the Lady Hearts a 17-7 lead just five minutes into the contest. Ella Niebrugge and Bria Beals both connected from long range and Sidney Donaldson converted a Vandalia turnover into a late basket, giving EHS a 22-10 lead after the opening eight minutes.
Thornton Fractional North jumped out to a first-quarter lead and were never headed Thursday night, en route to a 61-50 win over Effingham in an opening-round game of the 71st annual Salem Invitational Basketball Tournament.
Jayden Small knocked down a pair of three-pointers and scored eight points, as the Meteors jumped out to a 16-6 lead. The Hearts were within seven points at halftime, 30-23, and after three quarter, 41-34. TF North then outscored Effingham 20-16 in the final eight minutes to secure the win.
“We struggled with their pressure and didn’t rebound as well as we should have,” EHS coach Obie Farmer said. “It was like we were moving in slow motion against them. They are quick and aggressive and had a hand on everything.”
Garrett Wolfe led the Hearts with a game-high 19 points and Andrew Donaldson added 11.
Effingham, now 8-13 on the season, will play two games on Saturday. The Hearts will face Salem at 12:30 p.m. The winner of that game will be in the consolation championship at 5 p.m. The loser will play for 7th place at 3:30 p.m.
The Effingham Hearts jumped out to a quick lead and maintained it throughout, finishing with a 54-46 win at home Tuesday night over Dieterich.
Logan Heil scored eight points and Andrew Donaldson added more, including a three-pointer, helping the Hearts build a 17-6 lead after the first quarter. Garrett Wolfe scored six points and Donaldson connected on another three, as EHS expanded its lead to 28-15 at intermission.
The Movin’ Maroons went on a 12-2 run in the third period to close the gap. Caleb Gephart sparked that surge, scoring 11 of his game-high 18 points, to get Dieterich to within 35-30. But Wolfe scored five points, Andrew Splechter added four and Gunner Brown knocked down a three, helping the Hearts maintain their lead and secure the victory.
Dieterich, who also got nine points from Lucas Westendorf, dipped to 10-8 on the season.
Wolfe and Heil finished in double figures for Effingham, scoring 15 and 14 points respectively.
The Hearts improved to 8-12 overall. They will open play in the Salem Invitational Basketball Tournament on Thursday night. They will face Thornton Fractional North at 8 p.m.
Page 17 of 63
