By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Laurie Thompson said all the parts are there for the Teutopolis Lady Shoes to have a successful basketball season.

She welcomes back a group that brings experience, size, speed and athleticism.

“We just need to get them all working together,” Thompson said.

The veteran coach is entering her 16^th season at THS. She will reach a coaching milestone early when she notches her 400^th victory. Thompson enters the season with a 397-106 record in her career and got one step closer when the Lady Shoes opened their season with a convincing 61-19 victory over Newton.

And after a year dealing with the COVID pandemic, it was nice to be playing in a gym with fans again.

“Everybody is excited about coming back with more normal conditions,” she admitted. “You never realize exactly what you have until something is taken away.”

Thompson said one of the most difficult things about last year was the lack of goals.

“What goals could you really set?” she questioned. “Go undefeated? Scoring so many points or holding your opponents to a certain number? Trying to win the conference?

“One of our goals every year is to go undefeated in the second season (postseason),” Thompson added. “Unfortunately, we didn’t even have that. It was like an intramural season.”

She said she’s seen a difference in the girls this year.

“There’s a spark,” Thompson noted. “They came in more focused and they’ve been practicing harder. There’s a mindset of wanting to come ready to play every day and making the most of it. I like what I’ve seen so far.”

T-Town only lost one senior from a team that went 15-5 a year ago. But the one player – Lexie Niebrugge – was a good one. She averaged 17 points a game, led the team in steals and was the fourth leading rebounder.

“Overall, those are big shoes to fill,” Thompson admitted. “Lexie was an aggressive player with a high basketball IQ. Our girls are going to need to step up and fill that void.”

Fortunately, she has a nucleus that just might be able to do that.

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By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Laurie Thompson knew her team had it in them.

She had been telling them so all season.

Saturday afternoon, the coach, the team, the fans and, yes, the Paris Lady Tigers saw it in action.

The Teutopolis Lady Shoes turned in a five-minute stretch that was dominant. That’s the only word that describes it properly.

They swarmed and caused turnovers at the defensive end.

They pounded the ball inside and made those two-footers at the offensive end.

And they dominated the boards at both ends.

The result was a 17-0 scoring run that turned a close game into a rout of the state’s No. 2-ranked team.

When the final buzzer sounded for the final time this season, the Lady Shoes walked off the court 65-40 winners in what was easily their most impressive performance of the season.

“That was a very good way to end the season,” said Coach Thompson. “Look what defense did for us. Look what happens when you knock down those inside shots. Isn’t that fun? It’s a much happier feeling when you play like that.”

With three minutes to play in the third period, T-Town held a slim 30-27 lead over the Lady Tigers, who entered the game with a 13-1 record and ranked No. 2 in the Class 2A poll. That’s when Thompson applied full-court pressure and the game changed instantly.

Paris turned the ball over five times during the final three minutes of the quarter and the Lady Shoes responded over and over again. Lexie Niebrugge started the big run with a pair of free throws. Kaitlyn Schumacher followed by converting a three-point play after the first of those turnovers by the Lady Tigers.

But that was just the beginning. Kaylee Niebrugge and Emily Konkel turned the next two turnovers into short jumpers and Kaylee Niebrugge put the perfect topping to the end of the third quarter. After yet another miscue by the Lady Tigers, Niebrugge grabbed a rebound and scored right before the buzzer sounded.

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By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Most years, getting a win on Senior Night would have been the highlight of the final regular-season game.

And the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes accomplished that with a 54-46 victory at home over Newton.

But there was one more bit of business that needed to be completed Saturday night at J.H. Griffin Gymnasium.

And it didn’t take long.

Like the first offensive possession.

Just 45 seconds into the contest, Evan Wermert hit a short jumper to become the 18th player in the rich Teutopolis basketball tradition to reach the coveted 1,000-point plateau. He came into the game with 999 career points.

“It was nothing out of the ordinary,” THS coach Chet Reeder explained. “We ran his favorite set. We were going to run that play until he scored.”

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Evan Wermert is knocking on the door of a career milestone.

In Effingham County, reaching the 1,000-point plateau is an accomplishment that not many achieve. But the ones that do are considered among the best to play at their respective school.

Wermert is just one point away from joining that group in Teutopolis.

The senior went into Friday night’s game with 973 career points – just 27 away from the coveted mark. He pumped in 26 points and led the Wooden Shots to a 67-46 victory at Mt. Zion in their final Apollo Conference game of the season.

It looked like Wermert might get what he needed in the opening eight minutes. He drilled three shots from behind the arc and scored 13 points, as the Shoes built an early 20-17 lead. By halftime, they expanded the margin to 38-29, and then began to pull away in the third quarter.

Wermert, along with Max Niebrugge and Jordan Hardiek, knocked down three-pointers, helping T-Town go on a 15-4 scoring surge that increased their advantage to 20-points. Heading into the fourth quarter, T-Town was up 53-33.

Teutopolis had a balanced scoring attack, with four players reaching double figures. Matthew Deters and Evan Addis both had 11 points and Hardiek added 10.

There were several contributors to the victory. Wermert had 7 rebounds and 5 assists, while Hardiek had 4 rebounds and 5 assists, Niebrugge 5 rebounds and 7 assists, Addis five assists and Deters and Caleb Siemer both had 5 rebounds.

The Shoes improved to 14-4 overall and finished 7-4 in the Apollo. They will play their season finale today (Saturday) at home against Newton in the season finale.