By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

There are wins.

And then there are quality wins.

Teutopolis got a quality win Saturday.

The Wooden Shoes trailed heading into the fourth quarter, but went on a 12-3 scoring surge to pull out a hard-earned 44-38 win over Centralia in the final game of the 10^th annual Wooden Shoes Shootout, played at T-Town’s J.H. Griffin Gymnasium.

“Centralia is really good,” THS coach Chet Reeder said. “Anytime you beat them, it’s a quality win and something to be proud of.”

But it didn’t come easy.

The Orphans owned a three-point lead heading into the final eight minutes. But James Niebrugge scored just 16 seconds into the fourth quarter. Caleb Siemer then grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to put the Shoes ahead to stay and Brendan Niebrugge capped the 7-0 run with a three-pointer to make it 39-35 at the 5:38 mark.

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Sydney Richards scored nine points in the fourth quarter Monday night, helping the Neoga Lady Indians stage a fourth quarter rally and post a 53-47 victory at home over Teutopolis.

The Lady Shoes were on top, 41-33, entering the final eight minutes. But they were held to just one basket and four free throws. Richards then led the Neoga comeback, helping the hosts go on a 20-6 scoring run to get the win.

Until the final period, Teutopolis led throughout. Kaylee Niebrugge scored eight first-quarter points, as the Lady Shoes built a 19-10 lead. Niebrugge had nine more points in the second period and THS led 32-23 at halftime.

Richards finished with 23 points to lead the Lady Indians, who improved to 27-3 on the season.

Kaylee Niebrugge had a game-high 24 points for T-Town, while Molly Ruholl added 11.

The Lady Shoes dipped to 23-5 on the season. They will be off until Monday, Feb. 11, when they open play as the top seed in the Carmi Class 2A Regional. They will face either Palestine-Hutsonville or Carmi at 6 p.m.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes notched their 20^th win of the season Tuesday night, coming home with a 55-41 victory at Casey-Westfield.

The teams were tied 11-11 after the first eight minutes. Caleb Siemer scored six points and Garrett Gaddis knocked down his first of four three-pointers, helping T-Town build a 23-16 lead at halftime.

Siemer scored 10 more points in the third period and the Shoes expanded the margin to double-digits, leading 43-30 heading into the final quarter.

Siemer led the Shoes with 18 points, while Gaddis added 12.

THS improved to 20-7 on the season. They will return home to play Saturday. The Shoes will play the fifth and final game in the 10^th annual Wooden Shoes Shootout. They will face Centralia at 5 p.m.

The Teutopolis Lady Shoes will be looking to keep their string of regional titles going when the postseason opens the week of February 13.

The Lady Shoes – not counting the 2021 season when COVID prevented the postseason from being played – have won 12 consecutive regionals. And over the past 30 seasons, the Lady Shoes have brought home the regional plaque 29 times.

A year ago, the Lady Shoes won the Salem Regional before being eliminated by Paris in a semifinal contest of the Monticello Sectional.

This year, T-Town will enter as the No. 1 seed in the Carmi Regional and plays its first game on Monday, Feb. 13. They will play either Palestine-Hutsonville or Carmi at 6 p.m.

The regional championship is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16.

The winner will advance to the Pana Sectional, which will begin on Tuesday, Feb. 21. Regional winners from Warrensburg-Latham, Flora and Paris regionals will also play in the Pana Sectional.

Here is the complete schedule for the Carmi Regional:

Saturday, Feb. 11

Game 1 – TBS – No. 11 Palestine-Hutsonville at Carmi

Game 2 – TBS – No. 12 Lawrenceville at No. 5 Mt. Carmel

Monday, Feb. 13

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

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

Thursday, Feb. 16

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