The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes returned to the winner’s circle in a big way Friday night.

The Shoes outscored Okaw Valley 29-11 in the middle two quarters, en route to a convincing 60-27 non-conference victory at home.

T-Town was originally scheduled to play Charleston, but due to COVID issues, that game was cancelled. Okaw Valley had an open date and agreed to travel to Teutopolis.

THS had a 13-8 lead after the opening eight minutes, but continued to expand that advantage the rest of the game. It was 28-12 at intermission and 42-19 after three quarters.

Evan Wermert led the T-Town scoring attack with a game-high 18 points and Jordan Hardiek added 12. Wermert and Matthew Deters both grabbed eight rebounds to help the Shoes to a 35-16 edge on the boards.

Teutopolis improved to 3-2 overall. There has also been a change in Saturday’s game. The Shoes were supposed to travel to Mahomet-Seymour, but they, too, have COVID issues and had to cancel. So T-Town will play at Marshall.

The Shoes, 1-2 in the Apollo Conference, will return to league play Tuesday at Taylorville.

The Teutopolis Lady Shoes jumped out to a quick lead and never looked back Tuesday night, finishing with a 70-27 victory at St. Anthony.

T-Town raced to a 22-9 lead after the opening eight minutes and increased the margin to 36-15 at halftime. Entering the fourth period, the Lady Shoes were on top 56-27.

Lexie Niebrugge made four of the team’s 10 three-pointers and finished with a game-high 16 points. Six different players had at least one three in the game. Izzy Hardiek and Kaylee Niebrugge both cracked double figures with 11 points. Kaitlyn Schumacher and Hardiek led the team in rebounds, pulling down nine and seven respectively, and Kaylee Niebrugge had four steals.

Riley Guy led the Lady Bulldogs with nine points and Reese Jones added eight.

St. Anthony, now 1-2, will play at home Thursday against Dieterich and then travel to Newton on Saturday.

The Lady Shoes improved to 4-0 overall. Their schedule for the remainder of the week is uncertain. They were supposed to play Charleston on Thursday and Mahomet-Seymour on Saturday, but both of those games have been cancelled due to COVID issues at those two schools.

The combination of Shae Littleford and Hannah Buescher proved to be too much Thursday night, as the Charleston Lady Trojans posted a 67-56 Apollo Conference victory at Teutopolis.

Littleford pumped in 29 points and Buescher added 20 in a game that featured 36 personal fouls called and 57 free throws attempted.

Littleford and Buescher were kept pretty well in check in the first half. The Lady Shoes were within 17-14 after the first eight minutes and trailed by just one point, 25-24, at intermission.

But the talented duo poured in 20 points in the third period, helping Charleston outscore the hosts 24-13 and open a double-digit lead, 49-37, heading into the fourth quarter.

T-Town made 8-of-10 from the foul line in that final period to stay within striking distance, but the Lady Trojans converted 8-of-14 to maintain their lead. Charleston finished 15-for-24 overall from the charity stripe, while THS was 21-for-33.

Lexie Niebrugge paced the Lady Shoes with 19 points, while Izzy Hardiek, Grace Tegeler and Kaylee Niebrugge each scored eight. Kaitlyn Schumacher led the team with eight rebounds.

T-Town is now 3-1 in conference play and 4-1 overall. The lady Shoes will play Saturday at Mahomet-Seymour and Monday at Mattoon. Both are Apollo Conference contests.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

What’s wrong with this picture?

The Teutopolis Lady Shoes are clicking on offense, but struggling on defense?

Generally, it’s just the opposite, especially in the first couple weeks of the season.

But that’s not the case so far this year. And Monday night’s game at Effingham was another perfect example.

The Lady Shoes made 53 percent of their shots and had five players score in double figures, en route to a 69-50 Apollo Conference victory.

“I like our scoring balance,” said THS coach Laurie Thompson. “This team can do that. I basically play seven kids and all seven of them can score. If one kid has an off night, there are others than can pick up the slack. I just hope that continues.”

And the defense?

“We have to get better. We have to guard better,” Thompson added. “Give Effingham credit. They run a nice offense, got some good looks and made their shots, too. But we’re making some silly mistakes, mostly because we’re not talking. We need to communicate better. But we’ll keep working on that.”

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