By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

The St. Anthony Bulldogs missed seven shots in the first quarter.

But they only missed six more the rest of the game.

Whether it was a short jumper or a shot from behind the arc, the Bulldogs simply couldn’t miss over the final 24 minutes, connecting on almost 80 percent of their shots.

As a result, they turned an early deficit into a convincing 60-34 victory at home Tuesday night over South Central.

That win kept St. Anthony’s hopes alive for a share of the National Trail Conference regular season title.

But things weren’t looking too promising in the first eight minutes. It took the Bulldogs 3½ minutes to get on the scoreboard, they made just two of their first nine shots and turned the ball over four times. When the first quarter ended, St. Anthony trailed 8-4.

“I thought we moved the ball decently, but we weren’t penetrating inside at all,” SAHS coach Cody Rincker said. “We settled for some outside shots and had some uncharacteristic turnovers. We were just out of sync.”

But then the second quarter started and, suddenly, everything was in sync.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

The Enlow Center is becoming a place top 10 teams in the state don’t want to visit.

About a month ago, Neoga arrived as the No. 6 team in the Class 1A poll and got routed, 77-37.

Monday night, Tuscola rolled in undefeated and the No. 2 team in the state. But their drive home was a long one.

The St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs proved once again why they, too, are one of the best Class 1A teams in Illinois.

They built an early lead and continued to build on it throughout, finishing with an impressive 57-37 win.

“We’re a defensive-minded team,” said the happy St. Anthony coach, Aaron Rios, following the game. “Our focus and concentration is on how we can keep our opponent to under 40 points. We beat a very good basketball team tonight. It shows how we’ve turned it on the last seven or eight games.

“The key was our preparation,” Rios added. “After the North Clay game Saturday, we showed some film and did a walk-through with the girls. They got to know their opponent’s tendencies on both offense and defense. Then the kids went out and executed the game plan. I want to thank my coaching staff for coming up with a great game plan.”

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

For the fifth time in school history, the St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs are champions of the National Trail Conference.

They secured that title early Saturday afternoon after posting a convincing 59-36 victory over North Clay in Louisville.

The Lady Bulldogs completed NTC play with a perfect 8-0 record.

“It’s taken a while to get this fifth one,” St. Anthony coach Aaron Rios said. “Too bad there’s no trophy or plaque for the girls. It’s quite an accomplishment to go undefeated in your league. I’m proud of this group. This means a lot to us. But there’s still plenty of season left and we’ve still got some work to do.”

St. Anthony never trailed against the Lady Cardinals. After Matia Price hit a jumper from the wing to get North Clay to within 7-6, the Lady Bulldogs responded with a 12-2 run to end the opening quarter.

Nancy Ruholl started the run with a three-pointer. Anna Faber scored twice, Stacie Vonderheide converted a turnover into a basket and Addy Rios capped the scoring surge with a shot from long range to increase the St. Anthony lead to 19-8 after the opening eight minutes.

The St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs will enter postseason play looking to repeat as regional champions.

A season ago, the Lady Bulldogs won the Cumberland Regional and made it to the championship game of the Tuscola Sectional before falling to Neoga.

This year, they are the No. 2 seed in the Louisville (North Clay) Regional. They will open play Monday, Feb. 13, facing either Dieterich or South Central at 7 p.m.

The regional championship is set for 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 17.

The winner will advance to the Casey-Westfield Sectional, which will begin Tuesday, Feb. 21. Regional winners from the Catlin (Salt Fork), Neoga and Arcola regionals will also play in the Casey-Westfield Sectional.

Here is the complete schedule for the Louisville (North Clay) Regional:

Saturday, Feb. 11

Game 1 – 6 p.m. – No. 7 Dieterich at No. 6 South Central

Game 2 – 7 p.m. – No. 10 Altamont at No. 5 North Clay

Monday, Feb. 13

Game 3 – 7 p.m. -- No. 2 St. Anthony vs. Winner Game 1

Tuesday, Feb. 14

Game 4 – 7 p.m. -- No. 3 St. Elmo/Brownstown vs. Winner Game 2

Friday, Feb. 17

Game 5 – 7 p.m. – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 (championship)

Nancy Ruholl and Lucy Fearday combined to score 30 points Thursday night, helping the St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs post a 42-29 win at St. Elmo/Brownstown and remain unbeaten in the National Trail Conference.

The Lady Bulldogs led throughout. They were up 13-9 after the first period, 20-13 at halftime and 30-25 heading into the final eight minutes.

Ruholl went 5-for-6 from the line in the fourth quarter and Fearday added four points, helping SAHS outscore SEB 12-4 down the stretch to secure the victory.

Ruholl finished with a game-high 17 points. Fearday added 13 and Addy Rios chipped in with eight.

The Lady Bulldogs improved to 22-5 on the season and 7-0 in the NTC. They will be back in action at home Monday night, hosting Tuscola.

  1. Altamont's third-quarter run decisive; Indians go on to post 51-32 victory over St. Anthony; claim NTC Tournament championship
  2. Lady Bulldogs get impressive overtime victory over Pana
  3. Schmidt has perfect shooting night; sophomore pumps in 25 points, helps Bulldogs reach championship game of NTC Tournament
  4. No. 2 Bulldogs get a scare from SEB, but advance to semifinals of NTC Tourney