Basketball

What a difference a few hours can make.

On Friday night, the Teutopolis Lady Shoes shot the ball well, took care of the basketball and came away with a victory at Effingham.

It was a different story Saturday afternoon in Breese.

The Lady Shoes had difficulty making shots – especially inside the arc – turned the ball over 16 times and made the long drive home after suffering a 63-34 setback to the Lady Cougars.

Madelyn Santel connected on two of her team’s four three-pointers in the opening quarter, helping the hosts build a 16-8 lead after the first eight minutes. The game didn’t get any closer.

As the T-Town shots continued to be off-target, the lead continued to expand. By halftime, Breese Central was up 24-11 and it was then 42-24 heading into the fourth period.

Overall, THS shot 30 percent, making 12-of-40 attempts. But the Lady Shoes made only 8-of-31 from inside the arc, an icy 26 percent clip, while shooting close to 50 percent from long range, connecting on 4-of-9. They were also 6-for-12 from the free throw line.

Izzy Hardiek was the only Teutopolis player in double figures, finishing with 13 points. She also led the team with six rebounds.

The Lady Cougars, who improved to 14-8 on the season, had four players in double figures. Santel and Haley Ottenschnieder both had 13 points, while Riley Jansen scored 12 and Kaydence Schroeder added 10.

T-Town dipped to 16-7 overall. The Lady Shoes will return to Breese on Monday night, but this time to face Breese Mater Dei. The Lady Knights defeated Breese Central 47-44 earlier in January.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

When talking about the way her team played the first 20 minutes of Friday night’s game, Teutopolis coach Laurie Thompson’s reaction was “so-so.”

But when that conversation turned to the final 12 minutes, the veteran coach was all smiles.

“That’s the way we can play,” Thompson said. “If this team can play like they did those 12 minutes, we can be successful.”

With just under four minutes to play in the third period, the Lady Shoes trailed Effingham by a single point, 27-26. T-Town then combined solid defense and good shooting – especially from behind the arc – to close the game on a 21-10 run and finish with a 47-37 road win.

“Defensively, we finally started playing and getting some stops,” Thompson said. “I think we got eight stops in row at one point and finally got the lead. Then we hit some shots. We played really well those last 12 minutes.”

Kaylee Niebrugge hit a three-pointer to put the Lady Shoes on top to stay, 29-27, at the 3:24 mark of the third quarter. Kaitlyn Schumacher then turned an EHS turnover into a basket and scored at the end of the period after grabbing an offensive rebound to give T-Town a 33-28 advantage heading into the final eight minutes.

It was a four-point spread, 35-31, after Effingham’s Sidney Donaldson knocked down a three-pointer from the top of the key. But Grace Tegeler hit a free throw, Izzy Hardiek connected on a three and Tegeler followed with another from long range to spark a final run and Zoe Cremens capped the 12-2 scoring spree with yet another three that helped THS open a 14-point cushion, 47-33, with only 39 seconds remaining.

“I thought the difference was them hitting 4-of-5 threes during that tough stretch,” EHS coach Jeff Schafer said. “I thought in that second half they did a good job of kicking the ball out to their three-point shooters and then they made them. Plus, we had some turnovers that hurt, and they got too many offensive rebounds.”

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