Kaylee Niebrugge turned in quite a performance Saturday.

The junior forward accounted for more than half of her team’s points, turned in an impressive double-double and led the Teutopolis Lady Shoes to a 55-36 victory at Olney.

Niebrugge hit 13 of-16 shots overall and grabbed 15 rebounds to help T-Town notch its seventh win of the season.

And she got started quick.

Niebrugge pumped in 13 points to help the Lady Shoes break out to a 20-6 lead after the first eight minutes. She added six more points in both the second and third quarters, as THS expanded its lead to 46-28 heading into the final period.

Niebrugge finished with a game-high and career-high 29 points. Kaitlyn Schumacher added nine points and Izzy Hardiek pulled seven rebounds.

The Lady Shoes improved to 7-2. They will play tonight (Monday) at Paris.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Both coaches agreed.

The third quarter made the difference.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes applied full-court pressure, forced six turnovers and converted four of those into buckets.

The result was a 15-4 scoring run that turned a four-point halftime lead into a 15-point cushion, en route to a 46-37 win Tuesday night at Effingham.

“We imposed our will defensively in that third period,” THS coach Chet Reeder said. “We contested every pass and every shot and started to get some separation. Had we hit a few more shots in that period, we could have extended our lead even more.”

“They definitely had a different energy level in the second half,” EHS coach Obie Farmer added. “They came at us with a different type of press and it bothered us. We started rushing things and not valuing the basketball. That’s when they got their edge.”

Jeff Volpi scored just 29 seconds into the third period to get the Hearts within 22-20. But the rest of the quarter belonged to the Shoes.

Kayden Althoff started the run with a three-pointer from the corner and Caleb Siemer followed with a three-point play. Siemer and Max Niebrugge then knocked down a pair of free throws – both following Effingham turnovers – to give T-Town its first double-digit lead, 32-20, midway through the quarter.

Brayden Pals interrupted the run with a basket for EHS, but Siemer added another short jumper and Mitch Althoff closed out the quarter with a shot from behind the arc, giving the Shoes a 37-22 advantage heading into the final eight minutes.

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Welcome back Brendan Niebrugge.

After missing two games due to an ankle injury, the T-town junior returned to the starting lineup, led the team in scoring and calmly converted two free throws with just four-tenths of a second left to give the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes a 37-36 victory Friday night at Fairfield.

Those two foul shots completed a furious fourth-quarter rally that started with the Shoes trailing by 10 points, 34-24.

Niebrugge knocked down a pair of three-pointers and then hit the two late free throws. Dylan Pruemer had another key shot from behind the arc and Caleb Siemer made a pair from the charity stripe to account for T-Town’s 13-2 run over the final eight minutes.

The Shoes were playing without two starters. James Niebrugge missed his second game due to illness and Kayden Althoff is out for the season after suffering an ACL injury Tuesday night at Effingham.

Niebrugge hit a three and scored five points in the opening period, as the Shoes built a 7-2 lead. But the host Mules outscored THS 15-6 in the second quarter to take a 17-13 lead to the locker room at intermission. Fairfield extended its lead to 34-24 heading to the fourth period.

“We played very passive on offense against their zone,” THS coach Chet Reeder said. “Finally, we got some guys to be aggressive midway through the third quarter and created some turnovers in the fourth that helped us get back into the game.”

Niebrugge finished with a game-high 13 points and Siemer also cracked double figures with 12. Max Niebrugge had six assists and Brendan Niebrugge and Siemer led the team in rebounding with six and five rebounds respectively.

The Shoes, who improved to 8-1 on the season, will be right back in action today (Saturday). T-Town will play Peoria Christian at 1:30 p.m. in the Eureka College Shootout.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Laurie Thompson describes her team as a work in progress.

On Monday night, it looked like that work was definitely progressing.

The Teutopolis Lady Shoes used a smothering pressure defense to jump out to a quick, early lead and never looked back. Three lengthy scoring sprees resulted in a lead that continue to expand, finishing with a 62-32 victory at home over St. Anthony.

The Lady Shoes defense set the tone immediately. In the first three minutes, the Lady Bulldogs had just two shots and seven turnovers and T-Town owned a 12-0 lead.

“Defense is the name of the game for us,” said THS coach Laurie Thompson. “We really got after it tonight. We’re still learning how to do it, but that’s our goal. We’re long and athletic and we want to pressure people.”

Kaitlyn Schumacher was on her way to a 20-point performance just 33 seconds into the contest. She then capped that initial run with another bucket following a St. Anthony miscue.

To the Lady Bulldogs credit, they never quit playing hard. They had nine turnovers in the opening eight minutes and finished with 32 overall, but they refused to give up.

Lucy Fearday scored eight of her game-high 21 points in the first period and helped SAHS get within 19-10. The lead was whittled to four, 19-15, after Grace Karolewicz and Riley Guy hit shots and Abbi Hatton made a free throw to open the second period. After the teams traded baskets, it was still just a four-point margin.

But the final six minutes of the first half belong to the home team. Schumacher scored seven points and Kaylee Niebrugge added six more, helping the Lady Shoes go on a 16-4 run to close out the period and take a 37-21 advantage to the locker room at intermission.

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