As the final seconds were ticking off the clock, the Teutopolis Lady Shoes were passing the ball around, looking for a good shot.
It came to Mollie Ruholl in the corner. The junior lefthander then let her shot fly from behind the arc. It swished through the net with just two seconds remaining to put the Lady Shoes on top.
One desperation heave later and the T-Town girls were celebrating their 15th straight regional title. Ruholl’s shot gave them a 43-40 victory over Mt. Carmel in the championship game of the Class 2A Lawrenceville Sectional.
It was a close game from the second quarter on. The Lady Aces jumped out to a quick double-digit lead and led 12-4 after the opening eight minutes. But the Lady Shoes drilled five three-pointers in the second quarter. Summer Wall had a pair, while Chloe Probst, Ruholl and Anna Probst also connected from long range, helping THS go on a 23-14 run and take a 27-26 lead at halftime.
It was still a slim one-point lead, 37-36, as the two teams headed to the final quarter.
Both offenses virtually came to a stop in the last eight minutes. Mt. Carmel made just one basket and two free throws, while the Shoes were 3-for-8 from the line. Their only basket was the game-winner by Ruholl at the end.
Ruholl and Chloe Probst led the T-Town scoring attack with 10 points each, while Wall and Anna Probst both scored eight and Isabelle Zerrusen added seven.
The Lady Shoes improved to 20-11 on the season and will advance to the Newton Sectional. They will play at 6 p.m. Tuesday against Maroa-Forsythe, who captured the Sullivan Regional.
Ian Winkler scored 13 points in the fourth quarter Thursday night, helping the Olney Tigers hang on and post a 44-39 win at home over Teutopolis.
Winkler connected on a three-pointer and made 8-of-10 free throws in the final eight minutes. That helped the Tigers outscore the Shoes 15-12 and secure the victory.
Olney jumped out to a 16-6 lead in the first quarter, but the Shoes came back. T-Town was within 22-15 at halftime and 29-27 entering the fourth period.
Winkler finished with a game-high 28 points and the Tigers improved to 24-4 on the season.
Joey Niebrugge led the Shoes with 12 points, while Garrett Gaddis added nine.
The Shoes finished their regular season with a 20-10 record. They will now enter postseason play as the No. 2 seed in the Class 2A Newton Regional. Teutopolis will play at 6 p.m. Wednesday against either Palestine-Hutsonville or Mt. Carmel.
This one was over quick.
The Teutopolis Lady Shoes raced to a 20-point lead and then cruised to a 74-20 victory over Marshall Monday night in a semifinal game of the Class 2A Lawrenceville Regional.
T-Town, the No. 3 seed, will now face No. 2 Mt. Carmel for the regional championship at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Lady Aces advanced with a 56-36 win over Cumberland County in Monday night’s first semifinal game.
Mollie Ruholl knocked down a pair of three-pointers and Isabelle Zerrusen, Kelsey Niemerg and Malea Helmink each scored four points, helping the Lady Shoes build a 22-2 lead after the opening eight minutes.
The barrage continued in the second period. Zerrusen scored eight more points as THS increased its advantage to 42-9 at halftime.
Four players finished in double figures for Teutopolis. Chloe Probst led the way with 15 points, while Zerrusen scored 12 and Niemerg and Helmink both added 10.
The Lady Shoes improved to 19-11 on the season. They will now look for their 14th straight regional title when they face Mt. Carmel. The game will be played at Lawrenceville High School.
Garrett Gaddis celebrated Senior Night in style.
The senior sharpshooter was red-hot, pouring in 29 points and leading the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes to their 20th win of the season, a 56-44 decision at home over Mattoon on Senior Night.
His scoring helped the Shoes break the game open in the third period. T-Town held a slim 23-22 edge at halftime, but then exploded, putting together a 20-3 scoring surge to build the lead to 43-25 entering the final eight minutes.
Gaddis, who connected on four three-pointers in the game, was the only player in double figures. Joey Niebrugge had eight points and also pulled down seven rebounds, while Zac Niebrugge and Mitch Koester both handed out four assists.
The Shoes, who improved to 20-9, will close out their regular season Thursday night with a game at Olney.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
Another game. Another tough opponent.
So, what else is new for the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes?
In the past four weeks, the Shoes have faced teams like Breese Mater Dei, Mt. Zion, Centralia, Newton, Tuscola and Casey-Westfield. All extremely good basketball teams. Several of them ranked in either 1A, 2A or 3A.
So, when the 19-win Normal U-High Pioneers came to T-Town Saturday, it was just the next team on the schedule.
And when the Pioneers headed back north a couple hours later, they were still looking for that 20th win.
The Shoes shot well and defended well. That’s normally a successful combination and it was again Saturday evening.
Teutopolis led pretty much the entire game, but never by a comfortable margin.
A big rebound that turned into a three-point play by Alex Kremer with only 42 seconds to play was the clincher, helping the Shoes post a 48-43 victory in the final game of the 11th annual Teutopolis Wooden Shoes Shootout.
“This was a quality win against a quality opponent,” THS coach Chet Reeder said. “We had a couple mental breakdowns in the first half and we didn’t rebound as well as we should have at the end of the game. But other than that, I thought we played very well.”
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