Lady Hearts Outlast Newton

It was a battle, but the Effingham Lady Hearts prevailed in a Monday night girls basketball contest 63-53 over the Newton Lady Eagles.  The game at EHS was heard on KJ Country 102.3 and www.kjcountry.com.

The first quarter was a see-saw affair featuring a number of lead changes before Newton ended the period with a 13-11 lead.  A combination of three-pointers and foul shots enabled the Hearts to outscore Newton 15-12 in the second period to take a narrow 26-25 halftime lead.

An identical 15-12 margin in the third quarter left the Hearts in front 41-37 after three quarters.  It was tight well into the final quarter before the Hearts finally got a couple of stops on Newton while going to work at the foul line, making making 14 of 18 in the period to outscore Newton 22-16 and claim the 10-point win.  That final margin is the only time either team had a double-digit lead.

Effingham made just 39% of its shots on 17 of 44 shooting.  The Hearts made 21 of 30 foul shots, committed just 10 turnovers and pulled down 32 rebounds while making eight of 26 three-point shots.

Newton also hit on 39% of its shots on 22 of 56 attempts.  They made seven of 10 from the line, committed only eight turnovers and grabbed 24 rebounds while making two of eight three-point attempts.

Caitlin Kaufman led the way for Effingham with 20 points including three threes and five of six from the line.  Josie Zerrusen scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds.  Kelli Utz scored 10 points including five of six from the line in the fourth quarter and seven rebounds.  Stephanie Robb had nine points and nine rebounds.  Also for Effingham: Jantzen Michael six points and Lauren Stephenson two points.

Megan Jansen led Newton with 16 points and Andrea Cartright came off the bench to score 11 points.

Effingham improved to 8-3 and will be back in action Friday night hosting Cahokia in a recently-scheduled game at EHS. 

Effingham won the JV game 37-30. Maddy Field led the way with 14 points and Morgan Wilson scored 12 points.  Emily Kerner led Newton with 11 points.

At Effingham

NEWTON (53)

Jansen 5-6 -- 16, Cartright 5-1 -- 11, Will 3-0 -- 7, Swingler 3-0 -- 6, Kerner 2-0 -- 5, Bierman 2-0 -- 4, Wirth 1-0 -- 2, Stewart 1-0 -- 2. TOTALS 22 FG, 7 FT.

EFFINGHAM (63)

Kaufman 5-7 -- 20, Zerrusen 5-4 -- 16, Utz 2-5 -- 10, Robb 3-3 -- 9, Michael 2-0 -- 4,  Stephenson 1-2 -- 4. TOTALS 18 FG, 21 FT.

Newton              13    12    12    16    --    53

Effingham          11    15    15    22    --     63

3-point FG -- Newton 2 (Will 1, Kerner 1), Effingham 6 (Kaufman 3, Zerrusen 2, Utz 1)

Junior Varsity Game

Newton              0    12      8    10    --    30

Effingham          8      5    14    10    --    37

Newton -- Kerner 11, Koebele 6, Cartright 6, Me. Probst 2, Ma. Probst 2, Stewart 2, Kline 1

Effingham -- Field 14, Wilson 12, Stefn 6, five points unaccounted for on scoresheet.