Basketball

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Sometimes it only takes a spark to get things going.

And Tuesday night, Luke Ungrund proved to be that spark, turning in two key plays in the final 40 seconds of the third period.

First, the Teutopolis senior guard drilled a 3-pointer. Then in the final seconds at the defensive end, he knocked the ball loose, dove to the floor, secured possession and got the ball to teammate Evan Wermert, who drove the length of the floor for a layup at the buzzer that ignited the team and the crowd at J.H. Griffin Gymnasium.

Those two plays started the decisive run that broke open a close game and helped the Wooden Shoes pull away for a 57-36 win at home over Monticello.

“That was a big moment. That steal and score deflated them,” THS coach Chet Reeder said. “Luke and Max (Niebrugge) set the tone with the pressure they put on Monticello’s point guards. When those two picked up the pressure, everybody else followed suit.”

Three minutes into the second half, the game was tied 31-31. But the final 13 minutes of the contest was all Wooden Shoes.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

After two tough losses to Paris, the Teutopolis Lady Shoes were looking to get back in the winning column Monday night.

But after the opening 3½ minutes, things weren’t looking too promising.

T-Town made just two of its first seven shots and turned the ball over twice. With 4:35 to play in the first period, Flora owned a 6-4 lead.

But from that point on, it was all Lady Shoes.

Karsyn Mette hit a jumper that started a 17-0 run and sparked the T-Town girls to a 61-22 victory at home over the Wolfgals.

“Once we got going, I thought we moved the ball pretty well,” THS coach Laurie Thompson said. “At times, we pushed the ball up the floor pretty well, too. And we made shots. We shot 50 percent overall and I like that.”

After Mette’s basket, Lexie Niebrugge hit a three, Izzy Hardiek added a bucket and Olivia Niemerg closed out the period with five points, including a shot from behind the arc.

Hardiek then had a pair of free throws and Kaitlyn Schumacher scored three points to cap the 17-0 scoring spree and open a 21-6 advantage.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

If Teutopolis and Paris meet again this year, the Lady Shoes will be hoping the third time is the charm.

For the second time in four days, the T-Town girls were simply out-played by a talented and unbeaten Lady Tigers squad that has put its stamp on the basketball court as being the best team in this part of the state.

It was a four-minute stretch that made the difference.

After T-Town’s Olivia Niemerg made a jumper to close the gap to 43-39 just one minute into the fourth period, the Lady Tigers reeled off six straight points to open a double-digit lead and went on to post a 55-44 win Thursday night at home.

After Niemerg’s basket, Paris got a layup from Karrington Krabel, a 3-pointer by Madyson Rigdon and a free throw by Krabel to expand the margin to 49-39 with 3:15 to play. But down the stretch, the Lady Shoes made just one more shot, a three by Ciara Roepke, had two free throws and never got closer than nine points.

“I’m not pleased at all,” THS coach Laurie Thompson said following the game. “We’re soft, we don’t want to handle pressure and we’re not trying to stop anybody. We’re just standing around, watching and not playing.”

After not playing well, shooting just 24 percent and dropping a 44-35 decision to Paris in the championship game of the Charleston Girls Holiday Tournament Monday afternoon, the Lady Shoes had an opportunity to rebound from that loss and possibly hand the Lady Tigers their first loss of the season.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

A third quarter surge and a defensive tweak proved to be key factors Friday night.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes scored the first seven points of the second half, did a better job protecting the basketball and utilized a non-switching man-to-man defense Friday night to post a 66-57 victory at Effingham.

The Shoes trailed 26-24 at intermission, but Evan Wermert drilled a 3-pointer just 22 seconds into the third quarter. Mitch Hardiek and Brock Deters added back-to-back scores to put the Shoes ahead 31-26 and the guests never trailed again.

After turning the ball over 10 times in the opening half, Teutopolis had just one in the third quarter. Wermert had a pair of threes, Jordan Hardiek added another from behind the arc and Brock Deters added four points, helping the Shoes go on an 18-11 scoring surge.

“That third quarter was really good,” THS coach Chet Reeder said. “We’re starting to come together better offensively. We had some great possessions and were really in the flow of the game. Plus, we picked it up defensively.”

“We weren’t very efficient in that third period,” EHS coach Obie Farmer added. “We just couldn’t get things going offensively. We didn’t run our cuts and we didn’t take care of the ball. They hit shots and we had trouble scoring. When all that happens, a quarter can get away from you pretty quick.”

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

The words “Teutopolis” and “out-hustled” are rarely used in the same sentence.

But it would be difficult to describe Monday’s game with Paris any different.

And THS coach Laurie Thompson agreed.

“Paris is a very good team,” the THS coach said. “They were the ones getting their hands on the ball, getting the loose balls, getting the rebounds and just playing harder. We simply got out-hustled and I hope our girls learn from what happened today.”

Despite questionable effort at times and despite being ice cold shooting the ball, the Lady Shoes took undefeated Paris to overtime Monday afternoon before dropping a 44-35 decision in the championship game of the Charleston Girls Holiday Tournament.

Madyson Rigdon, one of two Paris players named to the all-tournament team, hit a 3-pointer 18 seconds into the overtime period to give the Lady Tigers the lead for good, 36-33. The Lady Shoes turned the ball over three times, missed all six of their shots in the extra session, managed just two free throws and went scoreless the final 2:43.

Karrington Krabel converted an offensive rebound into a basket, Rigdon knocked down a pair of free throws and Sarah Isaf, named tournament MVP, added two more free throws to put the game out of reach.

“I thought we panicked there at the end,” Thompson noted. “Plus, Paris has good ball-handlers and good shooters. You can’t just focus on one player when you play them. Like I said, we need to learn from this.”