By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

About 2½ minutes into the game, Collin Westendorf dove on the court for a loose ball.

It knocked the wind out of him, but the senior guard still got up and completed the play, which turned into a layup by Brock Fearday.

“That set the tone and showed what kind of game we were going to play tonight,” said St. Anthony coach Cody Rincker. “I felt like the guys were locked in that first half. They played with a sense of urgency.”

And they dominated.

After staking Breese Mater Dei to a 2-0 lead, the Bulldogs ran off the next 22 points and were never seriously threatened, en route to a lopsided 78-45 victory at home Friday night.

The Bulldogs defense forced six turnovers in the final eight minutes and the visiting Knights failed to connect on any of their seven first-quarter shots from the floor. But after Westendorf hit St. Anthony’s first shot 62 seconds into the game, the scoreboard started lighting up for the home team.

Four of those turnovers were converted into baskets. Ryan Schmidt drilled a couple three-pointers and had nine points, while Westendorf and Fearday both had four. When Brady Hatton grabbed a rebound and scored with just two seconds left, the Bulldogs had a commanding 19-2 lead.

Fearday opened the second quarter with a three-point play after yet another Mater Dei miscue, capping the 22-0 run. Two more shots from behind the arc by Schmidt made it a 30-4 score at the 3:53 mark. It was a 27-point cushion before Mater Dei’s Nick Lampe hit a shot from near midcourt right before the buzzer, sending the Bulldogs to the locker room with a 40-16 advantage.

According to head coach Aaron Rios, the St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs just continue “doing a great job playing our brand of basketball.”

And racking up wins at the same time.

“The Sisterhood,” as Rios refers to his team, notched their fifth straight win Thursday night, posting a convincing 81-55 decision at Neoga in a National Trail Conference contest.

It was a close game for a quarter. The Lady Indians were within five points, 19-14, at the end of the opening eight minutes.

But St. Anthony began to pull away after that. The Lady Bulldogs led 41-24 at halftime and 59-39 heading into the final quarter.

Stacie Vonderheide, in her first game since joining the school’s 1,000-point club, continued to score at a high level, pumping in a game-high 27 points. It was also her fourth triple-double of the season, as Vonderheide finished with 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

Nancy Ruholl had a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds and Adysen Rios was also in double figures with 14 points.

The Lady Bulldogs are now 15-6 on the season and 4-1 in the NTC. They will return to action Monday with an opening-round game in the NTC Tournament at Beecher City. The No. 2 seeded SAHS squad will face No. 7 Windsor/Stew-Straws at 11:30 a.m.

“We are looking forward to the NTC Tournament next week,” Rios said. “The Sisterhood has really been playing good basketball.”

The St. Anthony Bulldogs stayed unbeaten in the National Trail Conference after posting a 67-36 victory Tuesday night at Neoga.

The Bulldogs knocked down four three-pointers in the opening quarter – two by Brock Fearday and one each by Collin Westendorf and Ryan Schmidt – to build a 20-10 lead and were never threatened. They led 42-25 at halftime and 54-34 entering the final eight minutes.

Fearday finished with a game-high 22 points, with 17 of those coming in the first half. Schmidt scored 16 and Westendorf added 13.

The Bulldogs improved to 15-4 overall and 5-0 in the NTC. They will return home Friday to face Breese Mater Dei.

The Altamont Lady Indians have been tabbed the No.1 seed in the 2024 National Trail Girls Basketball Tournament.

The tournament will be played on five different days during the week of February 16. All games will be played at Beecher City High School.

The top four seeds include No. 2 St. Anthony, No. 3 Brownstown/St. Elmo (BSE) and No. 4 Neoga. The other schools competing are South Central, North Clay, Dieterich, Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City (CHBC) and Windsor/Stew-Straws (WSS).

Here is the tournament schedule:

Monday, Feb. 15

Game 1 – 10 a.m. – No. 8 South Central vs. No. 9 North Clay

Game 2 – 11:30 a.m. – No. 2 St. Anthony vs. No. 7 WSS

Game 3 – 1 p.m. – No. 3 BSE vs. No. 6 CHBC

Game 4 – 2:30 p.m. – No. 4 Neoga vs. No. 5 Dieterich

A new name has been added to St. Anthony’s 1,000-point club.

Stacey Vonderheide needed 26 points, but pumped in 35 Monday night, leading the Lady Bulldogs to a 78-35 victory at home and securing her spot as one of the best scorers in the history of the school’s basketball program.

The senior guard helped St. Anthony take control early. Vonderheide poured in 17 first-quarter points, as the Lady Bulldogs bolted to a 32-9 lead after the opening eight minutes.

She had just two points in the second period, but SAHS was still comfortably on top at halftime, 53-23.

With 2:49 left in the third period, Vonderheide hit a jumper to give her 27 points and reach the scoring plateau. St. Anthony led 69-31 entering the final quarter.

Vonderheide had a double-double, finishing with 11 rebounds, and came close to her third triple-double of the season with her nine assists. Nancy Ruholl had 23 points and Ady Nuxoll added 10, as the Lady Bulldogs continue preparing for next week’s National Trail Conference Tournament.

The St. Anthony improved to 13-5 on the season. They will return to action Thursday night when they travel to Neoga for an NTC contest.

  1. Lady Bulldogs beat Flora; Vonderheide closing in on 1,000 career points
  2. Bulldogs rout St. Teresa, 66-26
  3. Vonderheide scores record 52 points; Lady Bulldogs roll to victory
  4. Bulldogs pull away, beat Robinson 67-38