Basketball

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

It’s no secret the expectation level is pretty high for the St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs.

After making it to the sectional final a year ago and then stringing together 25 wins so far this season, this talented team has high hopes of making a deep run in this year’s postseason.

Their success just might hinge on which team shows up to play.

The Lady Bulldogs of the first half that committed a slew of silly, unnecessary fouls and got beat on the boards repeatedly?

Or the St. Anthony squad of the final 16 minutes that totally dominated play at both ends of the floor and turned the game into a rout?

Stay tuned because the postseason has just begun.

The Lady Bulldogs outscored South Central 36-10 in the second half Monday night and cruised to a 63-31 victory in a semifinal game of the Class 1A North Clay Regional.

St. Anthony will now face either St. Elmo/Brownstown or North Clay in the championship game Thursday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., with the winner advancing to the Casey-Westfield Sectional.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Cody Rincker and the St. Anthony Bulldogs knew they faced a tough challenge Saturday.

They were not only facing a much larger Class 3A school, but a very good team, who had already posted 23 wins this season.

The Bulldogs came out strong, took an early lead and only trailed by three points at halftime.

But Troy Triad used an 11-0 run in the third quarter to pull away, en route to a 61-39 victory in the third game of the Wooden Shoes Shootout, played at J.H. Griffin Gymnasium in Teutopolis.

“I thought we still showed some of our youth in that second half,” Rincker said. “We took some hurried shots; some too early in our possessions. Plus, we missed some open shots. Then they came down and hit their shots.”

In fact, the Knights hit two-thirds of their shots in the final 16 minutes. Aydin Hitt connected on three of his six three-pointers in that third quarter and McGrady Noyes added six more points as Troy Triad took control.

It was still a three-point spread, 30-27, two minutes into the third period when Hitt connected from long range. Noyes hit a jumper, Hitt drained another three and Drew Winslow turned a SAHS turnover into a three-point play to cap an 11-0 scoring spree in just a little over three minutes that expanded the margin to 14 points, 41-27.

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.

The St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs closed out their regular season in winning style Thursday night, posting a 59-30 win at home over Newton on Senior Night.

SAHS built a 14-7 lead after the opening eight minutes, but then used a big second quarter to take total control. Stacie Vonderheide connected on a pair of three-pointers and scored 10 points, helping the Lady Bulldogs go on a 21-6 scoring run to open a 22-point lead – 35-13 – at halftime.

It was Nancy Ruholl’s turn in the third period. The freshman guard made a three and netted nine points, as the hosts expanded their margin 24 points and led 50-26 heading into the final quarter.

Vonderheide paced the Lady Bulldogs with a game-high 21 points, while Lucy Fearday scored 16 and Ruholl added 12.

The Lady Bulldogs finished their regular season with a 25-5 overall record. They will now enter postseason play. St. Anthony is the No. 2 seed in the Louisville (North Clay) Regional. They will play either Dieterich or South Central at 7 p.m. Monday.

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.”