Olivia Niemerg started a 16-0 run by converting an Effingham turnover into a three-point play. Kaitlyn Schumacher added a jumper right before the first quarter buzzer sounded to narrow the gap to 9-7.

Niemerg scored the first four points of the second period, followed by baskets by Ciara Roepke and Izzy Hardiek. Niemerg then capped the scoring spree with a 3-pointer, putting the Lady Shoes on top, 18-9, with 4:34 to play in the first half.

“I was very disappointed in our effort,” Effingham coach Jeff Schafer said. “We made some mistakes early, but we still had the lead. But once things got a little tough, it was like we just rolled over and stopped playing. They kept attacking and our defense just didn’t respond. They were able to get to the basket way too easy.”

By halftime, it was a 10-point spread, 25-15.

While the shooting picked up, T-Town’s defense also started playing better, limiting the Lady Hearts to a single field goal in the second quarter,

“We were soft early,” Thompson noted. “We weren’t getting after it at all. But we eventually picked it up and played much better defensively.”

And in the second half, the Lady Shoes shot lights out, connecting on 14-of-19 attempts, a torrid 74 percent.

Niemerg opened the third period with a basket from behind the arc. After Effingham’s Taylor Armstrong scored four straight points, baskets by Lexie Niebrugge, Schumacher and Izzy Hardiek pushed the Teutopolis lead to 15 points, 34-19. Heading into the final eight minutes, it was a 17-point margin, 40-23.

Katie Carie scored six points in the fourth quarter for the Lady Hearts, but Effingham was unable to get closer than 16 points.

“We just have to find people that want to score and not play scared,” Schafer said. “We either have people open on the screen and roll, but don’t make the pass; or they’re not open and we force a pass. We did a few nice things today, but not nearly enough. It was just frustrating.”

Carie led the Lady Hearts with eight points, while Armstrong added seven. Effingham shot 35 percent overall, connecting on 12-of-34 attempts. The Lady Hearts were 2-of-8 from three-point range and 10-of-15 from the free throw line. Armstrong and Annie Frost both had a game-high seven rebounds, helping Effingham hold a 24-18 rebounding advantage. EHS turned the ball over 19 times.

Niemerg led three Lady Shoes in double figures with 17 points. Hardiek scored 13 and Roepke added 10. T-Town ended up shooting 51 percent for the game, making 24-of-47 shots. They were 2-of-9 from long range and 6-for-8 at the foul line. The Lady Shoes had just eight turnovers.

“We did not do a very good job rebounding,” Thompson noted. “We were just standing around and not boxing out. That is a major concern for me. We have to get better at that.”

The Lady Hearts dipped to 5-5 on the season. They were scheduled to play Cairo at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Lady Shoes improved to 8-2 and will face Charleston at noon Saturday.

Both teams will play another game later Saturday and conclude with a game on Monday. Those games and opponents will be determined after pool play is completed.

Lady Shoes 77; Cairo 32

Teutopolis went to 2-0 in tournament play and 9-2 on the season after posting a lopsided 77-32 decision over Cairo Friday night.

The Lady Shoes took control early, racing to a 21-7 lead after the first eight minutes and expanding it to 48-18 at halftime.

Olivia Niemerg connected on 6-of-9 shots, including 2-of-3 from behind the arc, and finished with a team-high 20 points. Ciara Roepke was 8-for-10 shooting the ball and scored 17 points. Kaitlyn Schumacher also reached double figures with 13.