Talk about a game being over quick.
The Effingham Lady Hearts pitched a shutout in the first quarter, building a 26-0 lead, and then coasted to a 73-6 victory over Madison in an opening-round game of the Vandalia Mid-Winter Tournament.
Eight different players scored in the first period, as the Lady Hearts quickly took control and turned the game into a rout. By halftime, it was 47-3, and it was 67-6 after three quarters.
Bria Beals scored 11 points and Alyssa Martin added 10 for EHS. All 14 players got into the scoring column during the game.
The Lady Hearts improved to 15-6 overall. They will now face the host Vandalia team in the semifinals. That game is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
“Just keep playing.”
That was the advice Effingham coach Obie Farmer gave his team at halftime.
“I think they were expecting me to yell at them, but what are you going to do?” Farmer said. “We contested every shot. They just shot lights out. Thirty of their 34 points came off three-pointers.”
Taylorville did indeed knock down 10 shots from long range in the first 16 minutes and open a double-digit lead at intermission.
“I just told the boys to keep playing and that we would weather the storm,” Farmer noted.
He was right.
The Tornados cooled off, the Hearts made some adjustments and Garrett Wolfe and Logan Heil combined to score 31 second-half points.
The combination of all that resulted in a 55-53 Effingham victory Friday night at home.
The Effingham Lady Hearts will be part of the 8-team field in the 2nd annual Vandalia Girls Mid-Winter Tournament.
The tournament will begin on Monday, Jan. 16, and continue on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Also in the field will be Madison, Vandalia, Salem, Greenville, Centralia, Mascoutah and Wesclin.
The Lady Hearts will open play against Madison at 10 a.m. on Monday. The winner of that game will play at 6 p.m. on Wednesday against either Vandalia or Salem, while the losers will be in action at 6 p.m. Thursday. Each team will also play a game on Saturday.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
Jeff Schafer was very grateful for the recognition, but did not want it to be a distraction.
His team was anything but distracted, especially when the second half opened.
The Effingham Lady Hearts scored the first 10 points of the third period to erase a halftime deficit and then outscored Paris 12-6 in the final 3½ minutes of the game to post a 46-39 victory Thursday at home on Alumni Night.
Special tribute was paid to Schafer, who has been at the helm of the Lady Hearts program for 25 years and is the all-time winningest coach in school history. Jim Maxedon had the record of 458 victories, but Schafer notched No. 459 during the holiday tournament and is now at 462.
Former players and former coaches were invited to attend Thursday night’s game.
“I’m so thankful for everybody that showed up,” Schafer said. “There was definitely extra spirit in here tonight. Some of the alumni drove more than an hour and a half to come. It means a lot to me.
“But we had a game to play against a really, really good basketball team,” Schafer added. “I couldn’t be happier. Our girls just fought, fought, fought.”
The Effingham Hearts will be part of the 8-team field at the 71st Salem Invitational Basketball Tournament.
Games will begin on Wednesday, Jan. 18 and continue on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each team is guaranteed three games.
In addition to Effingham, the field includes Champaign Central, Madison, Carbondale, East St. Louis, Salem, Thornton Fractional North and and Mt. Vernon.
The Hearts will open play at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 19, against T.F. North. The winner of that game will play at 8 p.m. Friday, while the loser will be in action at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
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