Basketball

Disposing of a No. 9 seed is not supposed to be a difficult task.

But that’s exactly what it was for the Teutopolis Lady Shoes.

It took a strong second half, but the T-Town girls got it done.

The Lady Shoes, the No. 2 seed, outscored Cumberland 24-11 in the final two quarters Tuesday night to come away with a 50-37 win in a semifinal contest of the Class 2A Palestine Regional.

Teutopolis, the No. 2 seed, will now face Newton in the regional championship. That game is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday.

Anna Probst scored six points and Chloe Probst added five more, as the Lady Shoes built a 15-11 lead after the opening eight minutes. But Jude Miller, Jade Carr and Susie Fritts each knocked down a three in the second period, helping the Lady Pirates tie the game, 26-26, at halftime.

THS built a 37-31 edge after three quarters and then made 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to secure the win and earn a berth in the regional final.

Carr scored 15 points, while Miller and Fritts both added 10 for the Lady Pirates, who finished their season at 22-10.

Chloe Probst led all scorers with 18 points, while Anna Probst and Kelsey Niemerg tallied nine and eight points respectively.

The Lady Shoes, now 24-8, will face a Newton squad that is seeded No. 3 in the regional and will enter with a 22-7 record. T-Town defeated the Lady Eagles, 54-46, in a game played December 19.

Teutopolis will be looking for its 15^th straight regional title.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes outscored Mattoon 15-6 in the fourth quarter and pulled away for a 61-51 road victory Tuesday night.

The Shoes held a slim 46-45 edge entering the final eight minutes. Alex Kremer, Mick Niebrugge and Drew Hoene each scored four points, helping T-Town notch its 19^th win of the season.

The game was close throughout. The Shoes led 15-14 after the opening period and 31-28 at halftime.

THS placed three players in double figures. Niebrugge and Hoene both scored 13 points and Kremer added 11.

The Shoes, now 19-10 on the season, will play their final regular season game at home Friday night against Olney.

The Teutopolis Lady Shoes will be looking to keep their string of regional titles going when the postseason opens the week of February 15.

The Lady Shoes – not counting the 2021 season when COVID prevented the postseason from being played – have won 14 consecutive regionals. And over the past 42 seasons, the Lady Shoes have brought home the regional plaque 39 times.

This year, T-Town will enter as the No. 2 seed in the Palestine Regional and play its first game on Tuesday, Feb. 18. They will face either Toledo (Cumberland) or Marshall at 6 p.m.

The regional championship is set for 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 21.

The winner will advance to the Paris Sectional, which will begin on Tuesday, Feb. 25. Winners from the Maroa-Forsyth, McLeansboro and Macon regionals will also play in the Paris Sectional.

Here is the complete schedule for the Palestine Regional:

Saturday, Feb. 15

Game 1 – 1 p.m. – No. 9 Toledo (Cumberland) at No. 7 Marshall

Game 2 – 5 p.m. – No. 11 Palestine at No. 6 Robinson

Tuesday, Feb. 18

Game 3 – 6 p.m. – No. 2 Teutopolis vs. Winner Game 1

Game 4 – 7:30 p.m. – No. 3 Newton vs. Winner Game 2

Friday, Feb. 21

Game 5 – 6 p.m. – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 (championship)

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

For three quarters of the game, Teutopolis led Troy Triad.

Unfortunately for the Shoes, the second quarter counted, too.

During that eight-minute stretch, the Knights dominated and built a double-digit lead.

Triad then withstood a run by THS to open the second half, regained control and went on to post a 48-38 win in the final game of the Wooden Shoes Shootout at J.H. Griffin Gymnasium.

“Hopefully, this was a wake-up call,” THS coach Chet Reeder said. “In a 32-minute game, you can’t let up like we did in that second quarter. You have to play with full energy every minute.”

After Mick Niebrugge drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key, the Shoes and Knights were tied just 60 seconds into the second period. But T-Town made just one more shot and two free throws the rest of the half.

A three by freshman Lucas Thompson gave Triad a lead it never relinquished and sparked a decisive 18-4 scoring surge to close out the quarter.