The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes will now have the opportunity to claim their 15th straight regional title.

That was clinched Wednesday night when the Shoes posted a 56-33 victory over Flora in a semifinal game at the Class 2A Fairfield Regional.

The Shoes, the No. 2 seed, will now face the host Mules for the regional championship on Friday night. Fairfield is seeded No. 5. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

T-Town took control early over Flora.

Nick Niebrugge and Gavin Addis both scored six points in the opening quarter, helping THS build a 17-5 lead. It was a 33-16 advantage at halftime.

The Wolves narrowed the gap to 41-28 after three periods, but Niebrugge pumped in eight points and Landyn Thoele added five more, as the Shoes pulled away down the stretch for the 23-point decision.

Niebrugge finished with a game-high 16 points and Addis added 11 to lead the Teutopolis scoring attack. Drew Hoene and Henry Thompson both scored eight.

The Shoes, who improved to 21-10 will now face a Fairfield squad that will enter with a 20-12 mark. The Mules notched their fifth straight win by defeating Marshall, 65-62, to reach the regional championship game.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

For three quarters Tuesday night, it appeared the third time just might be the charm for the Paris Lady Tigers.

Playing on their home floor and trying to avenge two earlier losses, Paris broke out to an early double-digit lead and led all but a couple minutes of the game, including a three-point edge heading into the fourth quarter.

But in those final eight minutes, the Teutopolis Lady Shoes took control. They went on a 17-3 scoring run, limiting Paris to just three free throws.

When the final buzzer sounded, the Lady Shoes had a 44-33 victory and a berth in the championship game of the Class 2A Paris Sectional.

T-Town will face Mt. Carmel at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

“That fourth quarter was a heckuva quarter to us,” said THS coach Laurie Thompson. “We took care of the ball, hit some big shots and our defense was really good. We knew that would be one of the keys to winning this game tonight.

“We wanted to score, but we knew we had to shut them down,” Thompson added. “We were playing on their home floor and we knew they definitely wanted to beat us. They did not want to lose to us for the third time.”

And heading into the final period, the Lady Tigers owned a three-point lead, 30-27. But it didn’t take long for that to change.

Kelsey Niemerg made a nice drive to the basket for a score and Mollie Ruholl followed with a jumper to put the Lady Shoes on top to stay. Malea Helmink then converted a Paris turnover into a bucket and Ruholl scored again to cap the 8-0 run and give T-Town a 35-30 lead.

Ruholl scored nine points in the quarter and Chloe Probst made four straight free throws in the final 39 seconds to secure the win and a berth in the sectional final.

Teutopolis is a perfect example of how winning breeds winning.

A couple weeks ago, the boys basketball program notched its 2,000th win since putting its first team on the court in 1924.

Next week, the Wooden Shoes will be seeking their 15th straight regional title.

And on Friday night, T-Town reached the 20-win plateau for the 17th time in the last 18 years.

But the Olney Tigers, despite playing without several players due to injury or sickness, made securing win No. 20 difficult.

The Shoes used a strong second half to gradually pull away and post a 57-42 victory at J.H. Griffin Gymnasium on Senior Night.

Teutopolis led most of the game, but couldn’t take control. Olney’s RJ Keller kept the Tigers within striking distance, finishing with a game-high 27 points.

The Shoes led 17-14 after the first period, 29-23 at halftime and 39-30 entering the final quarter.

Mick Niebrugge led T-Town with 18 points and Gavin Addis was also in double figures, finishing with 12.

The Shoes finished their regular season with a 20-10 record.

They will now enter postseason play as the No. 2 seed in the Fairfield Regional.

Their first game will be Wednesday night at 6 p.m. They will face either Flora or Vandalia.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Just another ho-hum regional title?

“Absolutely not,” Teutopolis coach Laurie Thompson quickly responded. “Every regional is important, especially for your seniors. We never take these for granted. Now we want to win a sectional with this group.”

That became possible after the Lady Shoes posted a 64-56 victory Friday night over Newton in the championship game of the Class 2A Palestine Regional.

Not counting the COVID year, it is the 15th straight regional the T-Town girls have claimed.

But continuing that streak looked a little shaky in the early part of the game.

Over the first six minutes, the Lady Shoes missed six shots and turned the ball over four times. Newton broke out to a 9-0 lead midway through the quarter. With 2½ minutes left, the Lady Eagles were on top 13-6 – and all six of T-Town’s points had come from the free throw line.

Then Jersey Gaddis came into the game. The sophomore finally got the lid off the THS basket, hitting a three-pointer from the wing. That was the first of three straight from behind the arc – one by Kelsey Niemerg and then another by Gaddis – to cap a 9-0 run to close out the quarter and put the Lady Shoes ahead for good, 15-13.

“Jersey came in and hit some big shots,” Thompson said. “She opened the basket up for us. Once we scored, we relaxed and were fine. Jersey was the key to that.”

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes will be looking to keep their string of regional titles going when the postseason opens the week of February 24.

The Shoes – not counting the 2021 season when COVID prevented the postseason from being played – have won 14 consecutive regionals. And since the 2002 postseason, they have brought home the regional plaque 20 times in 22 years.

This year, T-Town will enter as the No. 2 seed in the Class 2A Fairfield Regional and play its first game on Wednesday, Feb. 26. They will play either Flora or Vandalia. Game time is set for 6 p.m.

The regional championship is set for 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28

The winner will advance to the Tolono (Unity) Sectional, which will begin on Tuesday, March 4. Winners from the Paris, Westville and Macon (Meridian) regionals will also advance to the Tolono (Unity) Sectional.

Here is the complete schedule for the Fairfield Regional:

Monday, Feb. 24

Game 1 – 6 p.m. – No. 9 Flora at No. 8 Vandalia

Game 2 – 7 p.m. – No. 11 Mt. Carmel at No. 5 Fairfield

Wednesday, Feb. 26

Game 3 – 6 p.m. -- No. 2 Teutopolis vs. Winner Game 1

Game 4 – 7:30 p.m. – No. 3 Marshall vs. Winner Game 2

Friday, Feb. 28

Game 5 – 7 p.m. -- Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 (championship)

  1. Lady Shoes beat Cumberland; will play in regional final
  2. Shoes pull away from Mattoon in fourth quarter, win 61-51
  3. Triad uses big 2nd quarter to defeat T-Town, 48-38, in Shootout
  4. Lady Shoes look for 14th straight regional championship