By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

A 9-2 scoring spurt over a two-minute stretch in the fourth period was decisive.

But Teutopolis basketball coach Chet Reeder said his team’s struggles started long before that.

“Those started in the first half,” Reeder explained. “We didn’t take care of the basketball. We had 11 turnovers in the first half. You just can’t do that, especially against a good team.”

The Wooden Shoes turned the ball over 21 times in the game, including twice during that key fourth-quarter run. That proved to be too much to overcome, as the Tolono Unity Rockets took advantage of those miscues and used a red hot second half to come away with a 60-52 victory at J.H. Griffin Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.

“That’s a team that thrives on chaos,” Reeder noted. “We knew they were going to press us and I thought we handled that pretty well. But we had too many careless turnovers. We gave them way too many extra possessions. We played the way they wanted us to play. You can’t do that and expect to beat a good team – and they have a quality basketball team.”

With 4:48 left in the game, the Rockets held a slim 43-41 lead. Back-to-back baskets by Mason O’Neill and Andrew Thomas increased the gap to six. After Garrett Gaddis hit a jumper for T-Town, Henry Thomas converted a turnover into a score and Dane Eisenmenger capped the 9-2 run with a three-pointer from the corner to give Unity the biggest lead of the game, 52-43, with 2:28 left.

“That two-minute stretch was pivotal,” Reeder said. “They took the shots we wanted them to take. But give them credit. They made them. They simply executed better than we did.”

The Teutopolis Lady Shoes used a 23-10 scoring advantage over the middle two quarters Saturday to pull away and post a 53-20 victory at Olney.

The Lady Shoes led 14-9 after the opening eight minutes, but built that lead to 26-13 at halftime and 37-19 after three quarters. T-Town then outscored the Lady Tigers 16-1 in the fourth period to notch their third win of the season.

Chloe Probst scored 14 points to pace Teutopolis. Malea Helmink also reached double figures with 11. A total of 10 Lady Shoes got into the scoring column.

T-Town improved to 3-3 on the season. The Lady Shoes will play Monday at Pana.

The Teutopolis Lady Shoes notched their first win of the season by posting a 51-28 decision over Centralia in their final game of the Centralia Tournament.

T-Town opened tourney play by dropping a 52-21 verdict to Breese Mater Dei and then fell to Highland 44-24.

But the Lady Shoes bounced back with a strong performance against the Orphan Annies.

Teutopolis built a 14-6 lead after the first eight minutes. Anna Probst knocked down a three and scored five points in that opening period. By halftime, the Lady Shoes led by 10 points, 25-15.

T-Town didn’t let up in the second half. The THS girls expanded their lead to 36-21 after three quarters and then outscored Centralia 15-7 in the final period to secure the victory.

Chloe Probst led the Lady Shoes with 12 points and Anna Probst finished with 10.

Teutopolis, 1-3, will return to action Thursday, Nov. 30, with a home game against Benton.

The Teutopolis Lady Shoes used a balanced scoring attack to post an impressive 74-69 victory at home Thursday night over Benton.

Malea Helmink, Anna Probst, Chloe Probst and Summer Wall were all in double figures, helping the Lady Shoes earn their second win of the season.

The third quarter made the difference. T-Town led 38-34 at halftime, but then outscored the Lady Rangers 25-13 to build a 63-47 advantage heading into the final eight minutes. Chloe Probst scored eight points and Anna Probst added seven more in that decisive third period.

Helmink led the Lady Shoes with 17 points, while both Anna and Chloe Probst scored 15 and Wall added 11. Benton’s Malia Webb led all scorers with 24 points.

Teutopolis, now 2-3, will play Saturday at Olney.

Kamaree Pollard and Tiara Johnson combined to score 45 points Monday night, helping the Mt. Vernon Lady Rams go on the road and post a 67-52 victory over Teutopolis in the season-opener for both squads.

It was Pollard in the first half and Johnson in the second half for the guests.

Pollard scored 15 of her 23 points in the opening two quarters, helping the Lady Rams build 38-30 lead at halftime.

Then it was Johnson’s turn. She pumped in 17 of her 22 points after intermission, including nine in the third period when Mt. Vernon went on a 17-7 scoring run to open a 55-37 advantage.

Cold shooting and turnovers hurt the Lady Shoes. They shot just 37 percent overall, connecting on 13-of-34 attempts from two-point range and going 7-for-20 from beyond the arc. They also turned the ball over 24 times.

Chloe Probst kept T-Town close in the opening quarter. She knocked a pair of three-pointers and scored nine of her team-high 15 points, helping the Lady Shoes to stay within 19-14. Kelsey Niemerg hit a three and scored five points and Isabelle Zerrusen added four points in the second period, but THS trailed by eight at intermission.

Mollie Ruholl was also in double figures for the Lady Shoes, finishing with 11 points.

Teutopolis will play in the Centralia Tournament on Thursday and Saturday.

  1. Quick turnaround? No problem! Shoes bounce back with 52-43 victory over Taylor Ridge to capture 3rd place at state tournament
  2. T-Town discovers just who DePaul College Prep is; Shoes fall in first semifinal game of the Class 2A State Tournament
  3. Super sectional jinx is over; Shoes beat Pinckneyville 42-40 in overtime to advance to Class 2A State Tournament
  4. "No. 52" returns, sparks Wooden Shoes to sectional championship; T-Town will now face Pinckneyville in super sectional