By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Chet Reeder’s message to his team was simple.

Be aggressive.

“When you play a team like Chicago Brooks, you have to match their aggressiveness,” Reeder noted. “They feed off teams that are passive. I told the kids, if you’re going to make a mistake, make sure it’s an aggressive mistake. Overall, I thought the kids did a great job following the game plan.”

Once the lid got off the basket, the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes grabbed the lead and never relinquished it, en route to a 53-34 victory over Brooks Thursday afternoon at J.H. Griffin Gymnasium in T-Town.

That victory advanced the Shoes to the semifinal round where they will face arch rival St. Anthony later today (Thursday). That game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Teutopolis.

Early on, T-Town couldn’t buy a basket. The Shoes missed their first seven shots before James Niebrugge converted a turnover into a bucket a little over five minutes into the contest. Then Garrett Gaddis came off the bench to knock down a three and tie the game at 5-5.

Back-to-back baskets at the end of the quarter by Brendan Niebrugge and Caleb Siemer gave THS a 9-7 lead and it never trailed again.

In fact, those two scores ignited a 12-0 run. Siemer hit a pair of free throws, Gaddis connected again from behind the arc and James Niebrugge turned in a three-point play after grabbing an offensive rebound to give the Shoes a double-digit lead, 17-7, just 2½ minutes into the second period.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes jumped out to a quick lead and never looked back Wednesday night, rolling to a 75-50 victory over Charleston in an opening-round game of the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic, played at J.H. Griffin Gymnasium.

The Shoes built a 23-9 advantage after the opening eight minutes. The Trojans got within 32-21 at halftime, but T-Town expanded the margin to 52-36 after three quarters and then outscored Charleston 22-14 in the final period to finish with the 25-point win.

Caleb Siemer led three Shoes in double figures with 17 points. Brendan Niebrugge scored 13 and Garrett Gaddis added 10. Brendan Niebrugge also had a team-high six assists and Siemer pulled down seven rebounds.

The Shoes improved to 10-1 on the season. They will play two games Thursday – both at J.H. Griffin Gymnasium. They will first face Chicago Brooks, the tournament’s defending champions, at 1:30 p.m. The winner of that game will play either Oak Lawn or St. Anthony at 7:30 p.m. The losers of that game will meet at 6 p.m.

Here is a recap of the other games played Wednesday.

Nine players were chosen for the Charleston Holiday All-Tournament Team.

There were three players selected from three teams – Teutopolis, Effingham and Tri-County.

Making the team were Kaylee Niebrugge, Emily Konkel and Courtney Gibson from Teutopolis; Madison Mapes, Saige Althoff and Bria Beals from Effingham; and Thaylee Barry, Josie Armstrong and Kenzie Hales from Tri-County.

For the second day in a row, the Teutopolis Lady Shoes withstood a fourth-quarter rally.

T-Town saw a 17-point advantage reduced to six against Effingham the night before and saw another double-digit lead evaporate Wednesday night before securing a 42-40 victory over Tri-County.

That win gave the Lady Shoes a perfect 5-0 record and clinched the championship of the Charleston Holiday Tournament.

The two teams were tied 6-6 after the opening eight minutes, but THS then went on a 16-5 scoring surge to open a 22-11 lead at intermission. Emily Konkel and Kaylee Niebrugge both scored five points in that second period. Niebrugge scored nine more points in the third quarter and the Lady Shoes increased the margin to 37-25.

But the Lady Titans came roaring back in the final eight minutes. They outscored the Lady Shoes 15-5, but still came up two points short.

Niebrugge led all scorers with 19 points, while Konkel finished with a double-double – 14 points and 10 rebounds. Josie Armstrong scored 18 points for Tri-County.

Earlier in the day, the Lady Shoes cruised past Danville 64-14. Teutopolis led 23-6 after the first quarter and 38-12 at halftime.

Konkel led the way with 19 points and Niebrugge added 14.

The Lady Shoes, who improved to 13-2 on the season, will return to action on Thursday, Jan. 5, with a game at Mattoon. They will then play at Freeburg on January 7.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

The offense is new.

But that defense is a constant.

The Teutopolis Lady Shoes used a stifling defense for 3½ quarters to build a seemingly comfortable lead and then withstood a late rally to post a 42-36 victory Tuesday afternoon over the Effingham Lady Hearts in a game that could determine the championship of the Charleston Holiday Tournament.

T-Town is now 3-0 in tourney play, while EHS dipped to 2-1.

For nearly 28 minutes, the Lady Shoes switching man-to-man defense dominated the game. The Lady Hearts had difficulty getting good shots and then made only a few of the ones they did get. As a result, THS was able to grab an early lead and continued to build on it.

Bria Beals scored 90 seconds into the contest to give Effingham its only lead of the game, 2-0. But the Lady Hearts then missed their next 16 shots and went almost 11 minutes before scoring again. In the meantime, Teutopolis ran off 17 unanswered points to build a 17-2 lead at the 4:37 mark of the second quarter.

Alyssa Martin broke the drought with a short jumper with 3:42 left in the first half. Martin and Madison Mapes both scored in the final two minutes, but Chloe Probst turned an EHS turnover into a layup and Summer Wall added a basket, helping the Lady Shoes take a 13-point lead, 21-8, into the locker room at intermission.

  1. Lady Shoes cruise to two wins on opening day of tournament
  2. Shoes weather 4th-quarter surge; post 67-58 win over Mt. Vernon
  3. Paris stays undefeated after 43-27 win over Lady Shoes
  4. Teutopolis boys beat East Peoria, 54-46, in Eureka Shootout