Mustangs Win Eighth Grade State Girls Basketball Championship

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Published on December 18 2014 5:15 pm
Last Updated on December 21 2014 6:19 am
Written by Greg Sapp

The Effingham Mustangs are the champions of the Class 8-4A State Girls Basketball Tournament.

The Mustangs defeated previously undefeated Minooka 25-13 to win the championship game Thursday night at Rochester Junior High School.

Effingham's Andy McDonald posted video of the girls' celebration after their win. Watch it here.

Effingham led at all the stops, 5-2 after one quarter, 9-6 at halftime, and 15-13 after three quarters before pitching a shutout in the fourth quarter, outscoring Minooka 10-0 in the final period to claim the championship.

Effingham got balanced scoring, with Miranda Fox, Abby Weis and Carsyn Fearday each scoring seven points. Also for the Mustangs, Kiyah Kuhlman and Skyler Schafer each scored two points. Madison Buscher played, but did not score. Other members of the squad are Lauren Gephart, Sydney Rich, Karli Barr, Hanna Sheppard, Madison Doedtman, Jessica Herboth, Abby Hartke, Kaitlyn Kinkelaar, and Payton Koester. Whitney Duncan coaches the Effingham 8th graders, with assistance from 7th grade coach Charlie Schwerman and Mike DePoister.

Third place went to Canton Ingersoll over Edwardsville Liberty 40-36.

Class 8-4A State Tournament

Effingham          5    4    6    10    --    25

Minooka             2    4    7      0    --    13

Effingham -- Fox 7, Fearday 7, Weis 7, Schafer 2, Kuhlman 2

Minooka -- Alessio 2, Bachmann 4, Jootras 2, Meadows 5

(MUSTANGS COACH WHITNEY DUNCAN STANDS WITH THE 8TH GRADE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY)

Effingham finishes with a 23-1 record, while Minooka ends with a 24-1 mark.

The girls were also treated to a surprise welcome home, complete with police escort and huge firework display set off along Route 32/33 near Witt's Smokehouse. Video of the welcome home, as well as our brief conversation with Coach Duncan and 7th grade Coach Schwerman is below. (direct link)

A reception for the 8th grade squad is set for Sunday at 3pm at the EHS Hearts Rock Cafe. The team will meet at 3pm at the EHS Cafeteria and will travel through the downtown streets of Effingham with an Effingham Fire Department fire truck escort. The team will then arrive back at the high school at approximately 3:15pm for a reception honoring the team and coaches. The reception is expected to last until approximately 4:30pm.

It's been a good couple of weeks for junior high girls basketball in Effingham County, as the Effingham championship follows by one week a state title for the seventh grade girls from Teutopolis.