Lady Hearts Lose in Regional Championship Game; Bulldogs and Hearts Boys Post Big Wins; Other Friday Scores (UPDATE)

Facing a 15-point halftime deficit, Effingham High School’s girls basketball team put together a fantastic second-half effort that came up just a bit short in a 50-45 loss to Salem in Friday’s championship game of the Class 3A Olney Regional. The game was heard on KJ Country 102.3 and www.kjcountry.com.

Top-seeded Salem got off to a quick start, stringing together nine straight points during a 17-6 first quarter; at one point, the Lady Hearts had been whistled for nine fouls to Salem’s one and senior point guard Jantzen Michael was saddled with her third personal in the waning seconds of the opening frame.

The Lady Wildcats, who were taking aim on Coach Janet Holst’s 400th victory in her 20th season as the program’s head coach, extended their edge to 33-18 by intermission and things were looking pretty bleak for Jeff Schafer’s EHS squad.

The Hearts made some adjustments at halftime, though, throwing a triangle-and-two defense at Salem in an effort to slow down the efforts of Shelby Holst and Dearria Watson. It worked; it took Salem nearly six minutes to score its first second-half points and Effingham had pulled within four points by the beginning of the final quarter.

It got even closer at times in the fourth quarter; while EHS never took the lead, it closed within a single point but never could get over the hump. In the end, Salem made enough free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Michael, who avoided any more fouls after the first period, ended her senior campaign with a game-high 18 points despite being the obvious focal point of Salem’s aggressive defense. Shelby Myers and Maddy Field each contributed eight points and were key factors in Effingham’s big third quarter. Aly Armstrong, one of two freshmen in the Hearts’ starting lineup along with Myers, chipped in six points, while Marranda Steffen scored three and Taylor Crowell came off the bench with two. Brittany Beals, who along with Field and Michael played their final game for EHS, was held scoreless but was still a big piece of her team’s second-half comeback along with Taylor Conkling, who saw quite a bit of playing time as she spelled Michael from time to time in an effort to avoid further foul trouble. Shelby Nunamaker and Bria Barr also saw action for Effingham, which finishes the season 15-16.

Salem, which is now 22-10, got 16 from Watson and 12 from Shelby Holst. Kailey Beer and Maddi Hood added eight apiece, while Emily Baer added six.

The Lady Wildcats play Monday at 6 p.m. in semifinal action at the Highland Sectional; they’ll face Bethalto Civic Memorial. At 7:30 p.m. in Highland, Mascoutah and Massac County will square off.

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The St. Anthony Bulldogs made Senior Night a happy occasion Friday night, smashing the Casey-Westfield Warriors 78-44 in action at the Enlow Center. The game was heard on 979XFM and www.979xfm.com. 

The Bulldogs led at all the stops; 15-7 after one quarter, 41-27 at halftime, and 55-37 after three quarters before outpointing the Warriors 23-7 in the final stanza.

St. Anthony made 59% of its shots, 33 of 54, including six of eight on three-point tries. The Bulldogs made seven of 12 free throws, turned the ball over 11 times and grabbed 26 rebounds.

Casey-Westfield was held to 35% shooting, 14 of 39, including one of four on three-point attempts. The Warriors made 15 of 26 foul shots, turned the ball over 15 times and pulled down just 15 rebounds.

11 different players scored for St. Anthony, led by Andrew Gardewine with 15 points. Connor Greene and Jeff Niebrugge each scored 11 points. Also for St. Anthony: Zach Gardewine nine, Nick Grunloh and Braden Puckett eight each, Kyle Hartke and James Kabbes four each, Derek Rios and Chandler Martelli three apiece, and Kyle Bourgeois two points.

Trey Thompson led Casey-Westfield with 16 points.

St. Anthony finishes the regular season with an 18-10 record, while Casey-Westfield is 13-12.

St. Anthony won the JV game 67-48. For the JV Bulldogs: Chandler Martelli 21, Adam Levitt 14, Kyle Hartke 10, Beesley and Nuxoll 6 each, Deters 5, Walsh 3, Schmidt 2

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The Effingham Hearts made a RED OUT crowd happy Friday night with a convincing 66-38 win over the Salem Wildcats at EHS Gym. The win avenges a tough loss at Salem earlier this season, one of just two conference losses for Effingham.

The Hearts took care of this one early, outscoring Salem 19-1 in the first quarter. It was 25-11 at halftime, and 45-25 after three quarters before the Hearts outscored the Wildcats 21-13 in the final quarter.

Michael Carie led Effingham with 19 points while Grant Wolfe added 16 points and Braydon Bone 11 points. Also for the Hearts: Jacob Donaldson seven, Frankie Kasdorf six, Brent Beals three, and Reed Schafer and Jared Minor two points each.

Effingham improved to 19-6 with the win. 

Effingham won the JV game 60-37. For the JV Hearts: Brent Beals 15, Brady Jackson 10, Trevor Kreke and Jacob Donaldson 9 each, Michael Woltman 6, Mason Hull 5, Kyle Morrow 3, Brady Scott 2, and Vinnie Hess Pareira 1. 

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Also Friday:

Odin 84, South Central 45 (for South Central: Powless 11, Langley 8, Brauer and Harmeier 7 each, Riley and O'Leary 4 each, Hill 3, Ratermann 1)

Dieterich 83, Cowden-Herrick 35 (the top-rated Movin Maroons improved to 28-0 on the season on Senior Night at Dieterich; for the Maroons: Alex Bohnhoff 27, Nick Feldhake 14, Lance Niemerg 12, Devin Aherin 10, Clayton Campton 8, Cody Gephart and Travis Niemerg 3 each, Marshall Mellendorf, Noah Heuerman and Ryan Radloff 2 each; for Cowden-Herrick: Colton Burrus 11, Aaron Nohren 6, Konner Blackerby and Trey Pasley 4 each, Dylan Barnes 3, Colton Sphar, Carson Lorton and Kyle Black 2 apiece, Micah Sandiford 1)

Beecher City 64, St. Elmo/Brownstown 48 (Austin Rexroad led the way with 24 points and 10 rebounds; also for Beecher City: Daniel Harder with 14 points and six rebounds, Jackson Bales 9, Jake Wills 8, Cody Grove 2, and Brady Randall and Austin Stefanski 1 each, although Randall also grabbed 11 rebounds; for SEB: Kyle Hardimon 14, Noah Flowers 13, Landon Feezel 8, Malachi Maxey 6, Elijah Austin, Klayton Kroll and Brenden Noll 2 each, and Simon Koerte 1) (POINT TOTALS DON'T SEEM TO AGREE WITH FINAL SCORE)

Altamont 66, Stewardson-Strasburg 44 (Altamont posted its 20th win of the season against seven losses; for Altamont: Adam Mayhaus 17, Ryan Armstrong 15, Evan Cornett 8, Klaiton Wolff 7, Justin Goeckner 6, Brandon Runge and Dakota Shepard 4 each, Brandon Hosick 3, Eric Wolff 2; for Stew-Stras: Josh Overbeck 14, Aaron Blythe 8, Chandler Ballinger 7, Ted Kessler 6, Mark Jones 4, Derek Moschenrose and Chase Thies 2 each, Austin Rincker 1; Altamont won the JV game 56-34; for Altamont JV: Wolff 11, Deadmond and Shepard 8 each, Runge 7, Stone 5, Childerson 4, and Stevenson, Hosick, Whitt, Jackman, and Pemberton 2 each; for Stew-Stras JV: Thies 10, Kramer 8, Kessler 7, Moschenrose 6, and Quast and Ohnesorge 2 each)

Taylorville 73, Mattoon 67

Central A&M 62, Shelbyville 54

Mt. Zion 67, Charleston 55