By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
The St. Anthony starters played with some urgency for only about 15 minutes Thursday night.
That included four minutes of extra time.
But it was a near four-minute stretch by the non-starters that just might have made the difference.
The Bulldogs were trailing 38-30 just a minute and a half into the second half when Cody Rincker pulled his starters from the game.
“We played with no urgency that first half and we weren’t doing any better at the start of the second half. There was still no urgency or determination,” Rincker said. “I decided it was time to send a message.”
When he put his starters back in, it was still an eight-point deficit.
“That second group held them scoreless for nearly four minutes,” Rincker noted. “I thought Aiden (Lauritzen) diving for that loose ball was the spark we needed. When the starters went back in, they played much different and much better the rest of the way.”
St. Anthony erased the deficit, eventually knotted the score at 51-51 and then held a narrow 4-1 scoring edge in overtime to come away with a 59-56 win over Mattoon in an opening-round game of the 10th annual Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic.
But it was an uphill battle almost the entire way.
Stacie Vonderheide poured in 34 points and the St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs used a dominating second half performance to earn a 60-38 victory over Mahomet-Seymour Thursday afternoon.
That win gave the Lady Bulldogs a 1-1 record and a second place finish in Pool A in the Coles County Holiday Tournament. They dropped a 55-42 decision to Mattoon on Thursday morning.
Vonderheide scored 17 points in both halves. It helped SAHS build a 31-20 halftime lead.
It was still an 11-point bulge, 41-30, heading into the final eight minutes. Vonderheide scored nine points, while Nancy Ruholl and Addi Nuxoll both had five, as the Lady Bulldogs outscored Mahomet-Seymour 19-8 to finish with the 22-point win.
Vonderheide finished with a double-double after grabbing 11 rebounds. In addition, she had six steals. Ruholl was also in double figures with 11 points.
The Lady Bulldogs, now 10-5 on the season, will play two games Friday. St. Anthony will face Teutopolis at 11:30 a.m. at Mattoon High School. The Lady Shoes finished second in Pool B.
The winner of the SAHS-THS battle will then play for fifth place at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Mattoon High School. The loser will play for seventh place. That game will also be at 4:30 p.m. at Charleston High School.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
It’s not uncommon for coaches to make adjustments and changes at halftime.
Especially if their team didn’t perform very well during the first 16 minutes or the opponent is doing something unexpected.
Based on how the St. Anthony Bulldogs played in the second half, compared to the first half, Cody Rincker must have made some dramatic adjustments.
But that was not the case.
“There were no gimmicks; no smoke and mirrors,” the St. Anthony coach explained. “We stuck to our game plan. And the kids just started playing better.”
After making only three shots total in the opening half, the Bulldogs equaled that in the first three minutes of the third quarter. That was the spark they needed.
St. Anthony erased an eight-point halftime deficit by doing virtually everything well in the final two quarters. The result was a 50-46 victory at home over a talented Olney team Tuesday night.
“You learn about your guys in games like this,” Rincker said. “You find out who you can trust. You find out if your kids are willing to dig deep and battle back. I was very proud of our effort tonight.”
But this win – the Bulldogs eighth straight – didn’t come easily.
The Mattoon Lady Green Wave used scoring runs in the second, third and fourth quarters to pull away and post a 55-42 victory Thursday morning over the St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs in an opening-round game of the Coles County Holiday Tournament.
The game was played at Mattoon High School.
With Stacie Vonderheide scoring 10 points, the Lady Bulldogs built a 15-10 lead after the opening eight minutes.
But Mattoon responded with its first run. Kameron Latherup scored four points, and Bella Masse and Ella Conyers both knocked down three-pointers, helping the Lady Green Wave go on a 12-2 spurt and take a 22-17 lead midway through the second period.
St. Anthony responded with an 8-0 surge of its own. Nancy Ruholl made four free throws and Addi Nuxholl and Kallie Kabbes both scored two points, helping SAHS reclaim the lead, 25-22. But Mattoon’s Emily Maple made back-to-back shots from behind the arc that sent the Lady Green Wave to the locker room with a 28-25 edge at intermission.
Stacie Vonderheide poured in 31 points Monday night, helping the 7th-ranked St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs roll to a 75-44 win at home over Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond (ALAH).
Vonderheide scored 20 of her points in the second half, helping the Lady Bulldogs outscore their guests, 38-16, and turn the game into a rout.
St. Anthony led throughout. Vonderheide had nine points in the first eight minutes and the Lady Bulldogs led 21-11. ALAH got to within 37-28 at halftime, but SAHS dominated the second half. Vonderheide and Nancy Ruholl both had eight points in the third quarter, as the hosts expanded their lead to 55-34. Vonderheide had 12 more in the final period, as St. Anthony pulled away for the 31-point win.
Ruholl joined Vonderheide in double figures with 16 points. Adysen Rios had a strong all-around game, finishing with eight points, five rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
The Lady Bulldogs improved to 9-4 on the season. They will return to action on Thursday, Dec. 28, when they participate in the Coles County Girls Holiday Tournament. They will play Mattoon at 10 a.m. and Mahomet-Seymour at 1 p.m. Both games will be played at Mattoon High School.
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