By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
The good news for Okaw Valley?
They didn’t miss a shot in the first quarter.
The bad news?
They only took one. And by that time, the game was already decided.
The St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs scored 27 points before the visiting Lady Timberwolves even got a shot off and then cruised to an easy 68-9 win at home Monday night.
Okaw Valley couldn’t handle St. Anthony’s defense, whether it was a full-court press or half-court man-to-man. The Lady Timberwolves literally turned the ball over on every possession – 19 straight – allowing the Lady Bulldogs to build the early lead.
Nancy Ruholl scored 11 points in the first eight minutes and Addie Lauritzen added six more, helping SAHS race to the 27-0 lead. Sydney Reynolds got Okaw Valley on the scoreboard with a free throw at the 1:44 mark and teammate Gabby Totten added a basket 45 seconds later.
Heading into the second period, it was 28-3. And the gap only continued to widen. Ruholl scored six more points and Kallie Kabbes chipped in with four, as the Lady Bulldogs took a 46-5 advantage to the locker room at halftime.
By Steve Raymond
The Sports Report
Cody Rincker came away wanting more overall consistency from his team.
Mack Thompson saw improvement in his squad.
Both coaches wanted to see their teams shoot the ball better.
The St. Anthony Bulldogs grabbed the lead three minutes into the game, never trailed again and led by as many as 22 points.
The Effingham Hearts were able to stay within striking distance most of the way, but didn’t seriously threaten to go on a late-game rally.
When it was over, the Bulldogs had a 59-42 victory Friday night over their cross-town rivals in third round games of the St. Anthony Thanksgiving Tournament.
“We didn’t shoot the ball as well as we’re capable,” Rincker, St. Anthony’s coach, admitted. “We’ll be more consistent; at least I hope so. We still hit a couple big shots that kept them at arm’s length and didn’t let it get uncomfortable.”
“We have to put the ball in the basket,” Thompson, Effingham’s new coach, said. “We had some good looks. We got the shots we wanted. But we’ve got to knock them down. And we only shot about 50 percent from the free throw line. We shoot the ball a little better and this is a much closer game. We have guys that can score. They just need confidence.”
The St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs opened play in the Robinson Thanksgiving Tournament by splitting two games on Friday.
St. Anthony defeated Marshall in its first game, 52-43, but then dropped a 54-39 decision to a very talented Mt. Carmel squad.
In the opener, the Lady Bulldogs built an 18-6 lead in the first quarter, made it 28-14 at halftime and rolled to the win over Marshall.
Nancy Ruholl scored 16 points, while Ady Rios and Addi Nuxoll both added 10.
In the game against Mt. Carmel, the Lady Aces led 18-11 after the first eight minutes and maintained their lead throughout. They led 30-20 at halftime and 39-31 heading into the final quarter.
Ruholl pumped in a game-high 23 points, with 16 of those coming in the first half.
The Lady Bulldogs, 3-1, were scheduled to play two more games on Saturday against Robinson and Fairfield.
Breese Central outscored St. Anthony 10-5 in the fourth quarter Saturday night, rallying for a 46-43 win in the third place game of the St. Anthony Thanksgiving Tournament.
It was a tight game throughout. The Cougars led 16-13 after the opening quarter, but the host Bulldogs were on top 25-24 at halftime and 38-36 heading into the final eight minutes.
Three-pointers by Kaden Rakers and Bryce Wieter, plus a pair of free throws from Easton Becker helped Breese Central get the three-point lead down the stretch. St. Anthony had a pair of three-point attempts in the final seconds, but were unable to connect.
The Cougars, who finished 3-1 in the tourney, got 11 points from Griffen Becker and 10 from Raker.
Brock Fearday and Kennan Griffith led the Bulldogs, both scoring 11 points.
St. Anthony finished tournament play at 2-2.
The Bulldogs will be back in action Tuesday, playing at home against Salem.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
It has been almost nine months since the St. Anthony Bulldogs played a basketball game.
That means, head coach Cody Rincker and the players have been carrying a bad taste in their mouth for nearly 270 days.
Which is understandable.
After all, the No. 1 team in the state ended its season much sooner than anyone anticipated last February, suffering a 57-52 overtime loss to Arcola in the regional final.
“That was a tough loss for our program,” Rincker admitted. “I think the boys were ready to get back out on the floor and put that behind them.”
Whether or not that “bad taste” still lingers is unknown. But the season opener Monday night had to help at least a little.
The Bulldogs used some torrid three-point shooting in the first half to build a comfortable lead and then cruised to a 77-47 victory over Rantoul in an opening-round game of the St. Anthony Thanksgiving Tournament.
“I’m sure there’s still some of that ‘bad taste’ left, but overall, this was a good opening night for us,” Rincker said. “The kids got rid of the jitters and saw the ball go through the hoop. We got a lot of those ‘firsts’ out of the way.”
The Bulldogs actually saw the ball go through the hoop a lot, especially in that opening half and especially from behind the arc.
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