EHS Pulls Out Apollo Win; Area Roundup

MOUNT ZION -- Trailing most of the game, it looked like Effingham High School was going to suffer its first defeat in Apollo Conference girls basketball play Thursday evening.

But the Hearts rallied in the final quarter, outscoring the Braves 17-8 to pull out a 49-44 victory and improve to 8-0 in the conference, 21-3 overall.

"This was a win that showed our character," said EHS Coach Jeff Schafer. "Mount Zion played a great game. We hung in there and made enough plays at the end to win. We had five different people score in the fourth quarter. Everyone hung in there together and pulled it out."

Mount Zion edged out to an 11-8 opening quarter lead and led 22-19 at halftime. The Braves had a slight 14-13 third period edge to lead 36-32 going into the final quarter. From there, the Hearts took over, outscoring Mount Zion 17-8 for the victory.

Caitlin Kaufman, a junior, led the Hearts with 15 points and nine rebounds. Josie Zerrusen, also a junior, chipped in with 11 points. Stephanie Robb had six points and seven rebounds. Lauren  Stephenson tallied seven and Kelli Utz six.

Mount Zion was led by three players in double figures, Rothrock with 14, Brown with 12 and Propst with 12. Brown led in rebounds with eight. The Braves drop to 2-6 in the conference, 9-15 overall.

At Mount Zion

EFFINGHAM (49)

Utz 2-2 -- 6, Michael 0-1 -- 1, Totten 1-0 -- 3, Stephenson 3-0 -- 7, Kaufman 4-5 -- 15, Robb 2-2 -- 6, Zerrusen 3-2 -- 11. TOTALS 15 FG, 12 FT.

MOUNT ZION (44)

Brown 5-0 -- 12, Sarff 2-0 -- 4, Rothrock 4-3 -- 14, Johnson 1-0 -- 2, Propst 5-1 -- 12. TOTALS 17 FG, 4 FT.

Effingham              8    11    13    17    --    49

Mount Zion          11    11    14      8    --    44

3-point FG -- Effingham 7 (Zerrusen 3, Michael 2, Kaufman 1, Totten 1), Mount Zion 6 (Rothrock 3, Brown 2, Propst 1)

Junior Varsity Game

Effingham 39, Mount Zion 16

Effingham -- Wilson 11, Beals 1, Stephenson 6, Steffen 2, Field 5, Crowell 2, Nunamaker 4,  Tegeler 2, Rieman 2, Spencer 2, Tonn 2 (Effingham has a 9-3 record)

Mount Zion -- Hale 2, Harrison 2, Elwick 5, Miller 7

At Dieterich

Dieterich picked up its 15th victory on the season by downing South Central 63-20 in non-conference play.

The Movin' Maroons leaped out to a 29-3 opening quarter lead and the game was over. Candace Niemerg tallied 22 points, had 12 rebounds and seven assists. Courtney Flach scored 15 points, had seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Katlyn Meinhart had 12 points, two rebounds, four assists and three steals and Mallorie Vahling chipped in with nine points, six rebounds and six steals.

The Maroons are now 15-9 overall.

At Dieterich

SOUTH CENTRAL (20)

Cain 6-0 -- 15, Keen 0-0 -- 0, Lewis 0-0 -- 0, Price 0-0 -- 0, Ritter 0-0 --0, Rose 0-0 --0, King 1-1 -- 3, Riley 0-0 -- 0, Lotz 1-0 -- 2. TOTALS 5 FG, 7 FT.

DIETERICH (63)

Abbott 0-0 -- 0, Flach 6-0 -- 15, Higgs 0-0 -- 0, Webb 0-0 -- 0, Niemerg 10-2 -- 22, Schmidt 2-0 -- 4, Mahnke 0-0 -- 0, Meinhart 6-0 -- 12, Heuerman 0-0 -- 0, Vahling 1-0 -- 2, Wright 4-0 -- 8. TOTALS 29 FG, 2 FT.

South Central            3      5      5    7    --    20

Dieterich                  29    10    16    8    --    63

3-point FG -- South  Central 3 (Cain 3), Dieterich 3 (Flach 3).

At Newton

Newton edged Flora 47-44 in Little Illini Conference competition Thursday evening.

The Eagles led 13-7 after the opening quarter and 22-19 at halftime. The Wolves came back with a 12-10 third period edge to pull within 32-31 going into the final quarter. Newton then had a 15-13 final period score.

Carly Niebrugge, a senior, led the Eagles with 19 points. She was the lone Eagle player in double figures. Morgan Swingler chipped in with nine. Niebrugge had 10 rebounds.

"This was a big win for the team," said Newton Coach Brad Harris. "With Senior Night and Pack the Place Night, the girls responded very well and stepped up when they needed to."

Newton improves to 8-2 in the conference, 18-7 overall.

At Newton

FLORA (44)

Jones 8-1 -- 17, Hout 3-0 -- 8, Bayles 2-0 -- 4, Warren 1-2 -- 4, Cox 2-0 -- 4, Carder 2-0 -- 4, Krutsinger 1-0 -- 3. TOTALS 19 FG, 3 FT.

NEWTON (47)

Niebrugge 6-5 -- 19 (10 rebounds), Swingler 4-0 -- 9 (1 rebound), Jansen 0-8 -- 8 (4 rebounds), Wirth 2-3 -- 7 (5 rebounds), Bierman 1-2 -- 4 (2 rebounds), Cartright 0 (2 rebounds). TOTALS 13 FG, 18 FT.

Flora                  7    12    12    13    --    44

Newton            13      9    10    15    --    47

3-point FG -- Flora 3 (Hout 2, Krutsinger 1), Newton 3 (Niebrugge 2, Swingler 1).