By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

You can't score points if you don't take shots.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes found that out first-hand Friday night in Centralia.

In a typical high school game, teams will generally take anywhere from 45 to 55 shots from the floor. T-Town only took 27. And made just 8.

THS coach Chet Reeder said that was a combination of Centralia's good defense and his team being timid on the offensive end.

That, plus Centralia's deadly three-point shooting in the second half, allowed the Orphans to pull away and post a 42-22 win at home.

"They're very good at taking away the driving lanes," Reeder noted. "So, our kids stopped going to the basket. But when we got good shots, they didn't take them. Offensively, we were just very timid."

Even the good shots were hard to come by, however. When the Shoes got the ball inside, especially to Caleb Siemer, they double-teamed and sometimes triple-teamed him. And when the ball was then passed back outside, the Orphans were quick enough to get back on their man. As a result, many of the shots T-Town did take were heavily contested.

"Their emphasis was on stopping Siemer," Reeder explained. "There were times that allowed our guys to get open on the perimeter, but we didn't take the shots. Credit their defense. They put us in that situation by taking away our first option. But we needed to take the shots when we had the opportunity."

Even though the Shoes took just 11 shots in the first 16 minutes, it was only a three-point deficit at halftime.

Brendan Niebrugge knocked down a three-pointer in the first quarter and Siemer scored all seven of the Shoes points in the second period, and somehow, Teutopolis was still within striking distance, trailing just 15-12 at intermission.

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O’Fallon used a 21-4 run in the third quarter to pull away and post a 49-36 victory over the Teutopolis Lady Shoes in a quarterfinal game Thursday in the 35^th annual Apex Network Physical Therapy Girls Basketball Tournament in Highland.

The game was close the first half. The Lady Panthers held a 22-16 edge at halftime. But Laylah Jackson scored all nine of her points and Shannon Dowell added six more, helping O’Fallon go on a scoring surge and build a 45-20 advantage heading into the final eight minutes.

The Lady Shoes outscored O’Fallon 16-4 in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough.

Dowell finished with 17 points to lead the Lady Panthers, who improved to 17-3 on the season.

T-Town did not have a player in double figures. Izzy Hardiek had eight points, while Kaitlyn Schumacher, Emily Konkel and Courtney Gibson each scored six.

The Lady Shoes dipped to 12-6 on the season. They will return to tournament action on Thursday and face Triad at 5 p.m.

The Teutopolis Lady Shoes turned in one of their best shooting performances of the season Thursday and the results were quite positive.

The Lady Shoes also used a big third quarter to take control, en route to a 52-33 win over Triad.

T-Town is now 2-1 in the 35^th annual Apex Network Physical Therapy Girls Basketball Tournament in Highland. The Lady Shoes will now play Breese Mater Dei for fifth place. That game is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

The game with Triad was close in the first half. THS got eight points from Kaitlyn Schumacher and led 15-9 after the opening eight minutes. At halftime, the Lady Shoes were on top 24-17.

But the third quarter changed everything. T-Town got eight more points from Schumacher to spark a 16-3 scoring surge that opened a 20-point cushion, 40-20, heading into the fourth period.

Teutopolis has struggled with it shooting percentage much of the season. But in this game, the Lady Shoes connected on 54 percent of their shots, making 21-of-39 overall. They were 4-of-9 from three-point range and 6-for-9 from the foul line.

Schumacher was 9-for-12 and finished with a game-high 21 points to lead the T-Town scoring attack. Zoe Cremens knocked down three shots from long range to also crack double figures with 11. Schumacher also had eight rebounds and five steals, while Grace Tegeler dished out four assists.

The Lady Shoes improved to 13-6 on the season.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

It was bombs away at J.H. Griffin Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes blistered the nets from the outset, built an early double-digit lead and rolled to an impressive 91-53 win over Wayne City.

The Shoes knocked down 11 three-pointers in the first half and then opened the second half on a 17-0 run to put the game out of reach.

The Indians were a late replacement for Madison, who has gone to remote learning due to COVID issues and was forced to cancel.

THS coach Chet Reeder described the first eight minutes as being “like a pick-up game.”

The Shoes had six threes in the first six minutes, but were only on top 22-17. They got another three by Max Niebrugge – who connected on three shots from long range in the first period – plus baskets by Caleb Siemer and James Niebrugge in the final 90 seconds to give the Shoes a 10-point cushion, 29-19, heading into the second quarter.

“I thought we finally started playing a little better those final couple minutes of the first period and into the second,” Reeder said. “We got a couple stops, which we didn’t do early.”

The lead fluctuated between 9 and 12 points much of the second period. But in those final two minutes, Dylan Pruemer scored six straight points – a three-point play followed by a three-pointer – and Branden Niebrugge connected from behind the arc in the final seconds to send the Shoes to the locker room with a 48-29 advantage.

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