Basketball

The Teutopolis Lady Shoes used a big third quarter Thursday night to take control and pull away for a 52-32 Apollo Conference victory at Mt. Zion.

T-Town led 14-10 after the first eight minutes and 23-14 at halftime. But Lexie Niebrugge scored nine points and Kaitlyn Schumacher tallied six more, helping the Lady Shoes go on a 20-7 scoring run in the third period.

Heading into the final quarter, THS held a comfortable 22-point advantage, 43-21.

Lexie Niebrugge knocked down four three-pointers and finished with a game-high 22 points. Kaylee Niebrugge added 11 points and Schumacher turned in another solid all-around game with eight points and a game-high eight rebounds.

The Lady Shoes improved to 14-5 overall and finished conference play with a 10-4 record. They will end their season Saturday at home against Paris. The varsity game will start at approximately 12:30 p.m.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes were clicking on all cylinders Tuesday night.

Evan Wermert poured in 26 points, the Shoes held their on the boards against a taller team and turned in a strong defensive effort as well.

When the final score sounded, T-Town had turned in a dominating performance and posted a 63-36 victory at home over Mahomet-Seymour – a loss that mathematically eliminated the Bulldogs from the Apollo Conference race.

The Shoes raced out to a 13-2 lead after the opening eight minutes and never looked back. It was a 31-19 advantage at halftime and then THS took total control in the third period. The Shoes went on a 22-10 scoring run that opened a 24-point bulge, 53-29.

“Our defense was really good tonight,” said THS coach Chet Reeder. “Wermert played maybe his best game defensively, holding one of their most important players to just two points.

“Everyone was great within their role,” Reeder added. “Matthew Deters and Caleb Siemer did a great job of containing their bigs and rebounding. I cannot say enough about our team and all of the guys buying into their role and doing what’s best for this team.”

Wermert knocked six shot from behind the arc, en route to his game-high 26 points. He is now just 27 points away from the 1,000-point plateau. Deters and Evan Addis both scored eight and Max Niebrugge added seven. Wermert also had five rebounds and four assists, while Jordan Hardiek pulled down four rebounds to go along with five assists and six points and Deters added five rebounds.

The Shoes improved to 13-4 overall and 6-4 in the Apollo. They will play two more times this week –Friday at Mt. Zion; and Saturday at home against Newton in the season finale.

Evan Wermert and Jordan Hardiek combined for 38 points Monday night, helping the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes post a 53-43 road win at Olney.

Wermert got off to a blazing start, knocking down three shots from behind the arc and scoring 12 first-quarter points, as the Shoes built a 15-10 lead. Brendan Niebrugge added a pair from long range and Wermert scored five more and T-Town expanded the margin to 28-18 at halftime.

The host Tigers closed the gap considerably in the third period, outscoring THS 14-5, with all five points coming from Hardiek. Heading into the final period, the Shoes were clinging to a 33-32 advantage.

The two seniors helped nail down the victory in the final eight minutes. Wermert tallied seven points and Hardiek connected twice from three-point range, helping Teutopolis go on a 20-11 scoring run and close with the 10-point victory.

Wermert finished with 24 points and is now just 53 points away from the 1,000-point plateau for his career. Hardiek had 14 points, with 11 of those coming after intermission.

The Shoes improved to 12-4 overall. They will play three more times this week – tonight (Tuesday) at home against Mahomet-Seymour; Friday at Mt. Zion; and Saturday at home against Newton in the season finale. The Shoes are also 5-4 in Apollo Conference play.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Mahomet-Seymour opened the game by scoring the first six points.

Then the Teutopolis Lady Shoes kicked it into gear.

And then the game was over.

The Lady Shoes didn’t score the first three minutes of the game, but then went on a massive scoring run to close out the first half, en route to a 52-29 win at home Monday night over the Lady Bulldogs.

“Overall, I thought we played better tonight,” THS coach Laurie Thompson said. “I saw some good things. I thought our defense was okay and we did a good job rebounding. We have to get better seeing the floor and we need to make better decisions at times, but I’m seeing improvement.”

Just three minutes into the game, the Lady Shoes had turned the ball over twice, missed their first four shots and trailed by six points.

Grace Tegeler then knocked down a jump shot, Lexie Niebrugge drilled a three and the Lady Shoes began to roll. By the end of the first quarter, Niebrugge added another basket from long range and Kaitlyn Schumacher made two short jumpers and T-Town was on top 12-7.

But the barrage had just started.