Lady Shoes Win, Lady Bulldogs Lose in Sectional Semifinal Games; Other Tuesday Scores (CHANGE IN HEARTS' GAME AT OLNEY)

The Teutopolis Lady Shoes are a .500 ballclub after their 57-38 win over the Tuscola Lady Warriors Tuesday night, but they are also a team ready to play Thursday night for a sectional championship.

Meanwhile, the St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs saw their second straight regional championship season end with a loss at the hands of Central A&M, 53-34.

The Shoes game was heard on KJ Country 102.3 while the Bulldogs game was heard on 979XFM.

In a season where T-Town has dealt with more injuries than a MASH unit, the Lady Shoes appear to be jelling at just the right time. Playing again without starters Danielle Repking and Jamie Sandschafer and knowing that Chelsey Hardiek's knee injury has ended her season, T-Town Coach Laurie Thompson continued to juggle her available players and came up with a big win over a Tuscola squad that entered the game with a 21-5 record.

The Shoes led start-to-finish, up 17-12 after one quarter, 32-24 at halftime, and 43-33 after three quarters, and then scored the first 12 points of the fourth quarter to put the game away.

The Lady Shoes shot 54% from the field, 25 of 46, including five of 12 from three-point range. The Shoes again struggled from the line, making just two of eight attempts, but committed just nine turnovers and pulled down 28 rebounds.

Tuscola shot 39% from the field, 15 of 39, made just two of five foul shots, turned the ball over 16 times and grabbed just 15 rebounds while making six of 10 three-point shots.

Shelby Thompson led the way for Teutopolis in the first half, scoring all 15 of her points before intermission. She had just one shot in the second half. Anna Hartke scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Hannah Bueker was also in double figures with 10 points. There were many heroes, though, as all of the Shoes played typical lockdown defense. Reagan Drees scored just two points, but had five assists. Michelle Schmidt scored four points with four rebounds and two assists. Jenny McMahon gave T-Town a huge lift off the bench in the second half, scoring six points and playing nasty defense. Also for Teutopolis: Molly Smith with four points and three assists, and Macy Michels and Sara Thoele each scored two points.

Teutopolis is now 16-16 on the season, and will take on host team Flora Thursday night at 7:00 for the sectional championship and the right to go to Millikin University for the 2A Super-Sectional Monday night. Flora defeated Hamilton County in the opener Tuesday, 39-28, to improve to 27-3 on the season.

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Central A&M, one of the top Class 1A teams in the state, gradually pulled away in their win over the Bulldogs, leading 15-5 after one quarter, 23-16 at halftime, and 38-27 after three quarters before outscoring St. Anthony 15-7 in the fourth quarter.

Central A&M shot 46% from the field, hitting 18 of 39 shots and also making 16 of 20 from the free-throw line. The Lady Raiders turned the ball over 13 times and hit just one of nine three-point tries.

St. Anthony hit 12 of 33 shots, 36%, including one of six on three-point attempts. The Bulldogs had a tough night at the line, making just nine of 18, and committed 19 turnovers.

Megan Nuxoll closed out her Bulldogs basketball career scoring 13 points. The other senior who played, Morgan Gardewine, hit the Bulldogs' only three-pointer. Senior Kelsea Dust was sidelined with an ankle injury. Also for St. Anthony: Emily McDevitt six, Emma Richards five, Abby Brown three, and Hunter Niebrugge and Abbie Schmidt two apiece.

Meekah Maples with 15 points and Ryan Dooley with 13 points paced Central A&M, who is now 29-1 on the season. Bart Wiedman's Lady Bulldogs finish the campaign with an 18-14 record.

Central A&M will take on Arcola for the sectional championship at the Enlow Center Thursday at 7pm. Arcola defeated Palestine-Hutsonville 47-39 in the opener Tuesday.

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Meanwhile, the Olney Lady Tigers won the first game in their own 3A Regional Tuesday night, edging Mt. Vernon 52-48.

The win propels Olney into a game against top-seeded Salem at 6pm, followed by Effingham and Centralia at 7:30pm. The games, originally scheduled for tonight at Olney, have been postponed to Thursday night, same times, due to the wintry cold weather in the area.