EFFINGHAM — A missed shot always seemed to find the hands of an Effingham player on Thursday night against Paris.
The Flaming Hearts out-rebounded the Lady Tigers, 32-25, en route to a 57-45 victory.
Senior McKenzie Love was the primary contributor to that rebounding figure, finishing with 12. She also added 11 points.
“That was probably the best high school game she played,” head coach Jeff Schafer said.
The Hearts were the more aggressive team in the second half, outscoring Paris 35-20 in the final 16 minutes. EHS led 38-34 at the end of the third after a 16-point frame. The Hearts outscored the Lady Tigers 19-11 in the final period.
“[It was] a tale of two halves,” Schafer said. “We hung in there. I thought we were the aggressor in the second half. I thought the defense we played in the last five, six minutes of the game [was great].
“We got good stops and contested them every time and got every rebound.”
Paris junior Morgan Coombes started the game with a layup.
Love then hit a shot in the paint.
Junior Tessa Raddatz later made a layup to knot the score at four. Senior Averie Wolfe then made a floater to equal the tally once more.
Raddatz hit a three-pointer with 4:04 left to give EHS a three-point advantage.
The Lady Tigers then went on a 6-0 scoring run before a Wolfe layup with 1:37 remaining cut the lead to one point, 12-11.
Senior Alyssa Martin ended the period by making one of her two free throws to make the score at the end of the stanza.
Wolfe made a midrange jumper off an out-of-bounds play to give the Hearts a two-point lead, 14-12.
Love later converted a three-point play with 2:44 left in the second to cut a five-point lead to two.
Martin then made a shot later in the period to make the 25-22 score at the break.
EHS shot 31 percent from the floor in the first half.
Schafer said he wasn’t pleased with the offense at the beginning of the game.
“I really wasn’t pleased with our offense and how we were running it, but with this team, sometimes you’ve just got to watch,” Schafer said. “They’re so explosive.”
The Hearts shot 36 percent in the second half and 33 percent for the game. They forced 18 turnovers while committing 13.
Raddatz led EHS (17-2) with 16 points. She added four rebounds.
Martin and Wolfe had 13 points and five rebounds. Junior Maci Hayes had four points and one rebound. Junior Drew Weis had three rebounds and senior Ryley Engel had two rebounds.
Junior Macy Bicknell led Paris (16-3) with 18 points.
Sophomore Paedyn Keys had nine points. Coombes had eight points. Junior Kailey Young had four points. Senior Kilee Edwards had three points. Junior Jacie Young had two points and sophomore Pailynne Camp had one point.
Below are other results from boys and girls basketball games that occurred on Thursday:
GIRLS BASKETBALL
St. Anthony 59, Neoga 22
The St. Anthony Bulldogs defeated the Neoga Indians, 59-22, in a National Trail Conference game at Lake Land College.
St. Anthony led 13-4 at the end of the first quarter, 30-10 at halftime and 55-16 at the end of the third. Neoga outscored the Bulldogs 6-4 in the fourth.
Nancy Ruholl led St. Anthony (13-6, 5-0 conference) with 20 points. She added seven rebounds.
Addie Lauritzen had 18 points, seven assists and 13 rebounds. Jackie Vonderheide had nine points. Ali Kollmann had eight points and Lilly Gannaway had four points and seven assists.
Molly Moran led the Indians (6-12, 2-2 conference) with eight points.
Keeli McKay had six points. Chloe Frankie had three points. Natalie Ballinger and Emily Frankie had two points and Lola Hartke had one point.
Teutopolis 74, Flora 25
Class 2A No. 3-ranked Teutopolis defeated Flora, 74-25, at J.H. Griffin Gym.
The Lady Shoes led 26-6 at the end of the first quarter, 44-16 at halftime and 64-25 at the end of the third. T-Town outscored Flora 10-0 in the fourth.
Kelsey Niemerg led the Lady Shoes (18-2) with 14 points. She added seven steals.
Eva Mette had 12 points and five rebounds. Sophia Martin had 11 points, two rebounds and one steal. Anna Probst had 11 points, two rebounds and three steals. Allie Ruholl had 10 points, one rebound and two steals. Malea Helmink had eight points, one rebound and three steals. Jersey Gaddis had four points, two rebounds and two steals. Mallory Bloemer had two points, one rebound and one steal and Gabby Tegeler had two points and one rebound.
Dieterich 44, Charleston 30
The Dieterich Movin Maroons defeated Charleston, 44-30, at Charleston High School.
Dieterich led 13-4 at the end of the first quarter, 24-13 at halftime and 35-17 at the end of the third. Charleston outscored the Movin Maroons 13-9 in the fourth.
Addison Miller led Dieterich (14-6) with 15 points. She added six rebounds, three assists, two steals and three blocks.
Lena Goebel had nine points, nine rebounds, four assists and six steals. Claire Faller had six points, five rebounds, two assists and four steals. Callie Faller had five points, two rebounds, three assists and one steal. Addi Huber had four points, two rebounds, one assist and one block. Brehea Russell had three points, one rebound and one assist and Allison Boerngen had two points, four rebounds, one assist and two steals.
Brownstown-St. Elmo 57, Altamont 18
Class 1A No. 1-ranked Brownstown-St. Elmo defeated Altamont, 57-18, in a National Trail Conference game at Brownstown High School.
The Bombers led 16-4 at the end of the first quarter, 39-7 at halftime and 51-13 at the end of the third. BSE outscored the Lady Indians 6-5 in the fourth.
Dayana Haslett led the Bombers (19-1, 4-0 conference) with 29 points.
Presley Williams had nine points. Danika Ramsey had eight points. Madi Miller had seven points and Addie Sasse had four points.
Justyce Higgs led Altamont (9-9, 5-2 conference) with nine points.
Adilyn Schnarre had four points. Alyssa Ruholl had three points and Rylie Buchanan had two points.
Windsor-Stewardson-Strasburg 54, South Central 24
The Windsor-Stewardson-Strasburg Hatchets defeated the South Central Lady Cougars, 54-24, in a National Trail Conference game at Stewardson-Strasburg High School.
WSS led 22-13 at the end of the first quarter, 34-13 at halftime and 42-20 at the end of the third. The Hatchets outscored SC 12-4 in the fourth.
Kendra Hayes led WSS (7-8, 1-4 conference) with 18 points.
Cameron Carey and Clarissa Johnson had six points. Kierra Mueller, Claire Holland and Claire VonBehrens had five points. Lauren Longwell had four points. Sophi Greuel had three points and Elle Walker had two points.
Lauren Johnson led the Lady Cougars (3-9, 1-4 conference) with eight points.
Amelia Montes and Zoey Feldhake had five points. Kennah Hiestand had four points and Perci Reid had two points.
Newton 71, Shelbyville 40
The Newton Lady Eagles defeated the Shelbyville Lady Rams, 71-40, at Newton High School.
Newton led 20-12 at the end of the first quarter, 42-26 at halftime and 58-35 at the end of the third. The Lady Eagles outscored Shelbyville 13-5 in the fourth.
Grace Schumacher led Newton (13-7) with 19 points. She added six rebounds, three assists and six steals.
Izzy Meinhart had 17 points and two assists. Claire Probst had 11 points and three steals. Allie Hermann had 10 points and five assists. Maddie Brummer had six points and seven rebounds. Alani Bergbower had four points, five assists and seven steals and Ava Duncan and Nora Street had two points.
Kenzie Jones and Tailyn Hancock led the Lady Rams (8-6) with 13 points. Jones added seven rebounds, three assists, seven steals and three blocks. Hancock added two rebounds.
Kylie Smith had six points and three rebounds. Alex Jokisch had four points, six rebounds and one assist. Kinley Hardy had two points and one rebound and Rylee Nichols had two points, five rebounds and two steals.
Cumberland 70, Arcola 34
The Cumberland Lady Pirates defeated Arcola, 70-34, at Arcola High School.
Cumberland led 20-16 at the end of the first quarter, 42-22 at halftime and 64-29 at the end of the third. The Lady Pirates outscored Arcola 6-5 in the fourth.
Jude Miller led Cumberland (17-3) with 25 points.
Raegan Jones had 18 points. Alysa Dittamore had 15 points and Ashton Tolen and Jade Carr had six points.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Teutopolis 63, Dieterich 29
Class 2A No. 3-ranked Teutopolis defeated the Dieterich Movin Maroons, 63-29, at Dieterich High School.
The Wooden Shoes led 23-14 at the end of the first quarter, 27-21 at halftime and 48-24 at the end of the third. T-Town outscored Dieterich 15-5 in the fourth.
Joey Probst led the Wooden Shoes (15-2) with 11 points.
Isaac McWhorter and Landyn Buening had nine points. Jason Kreke, Gavin Addis and Landyn Thoele had eight points. Jake Probst had five points. Teagan Pals had three points and Gavin Buening had two points.
Bryce Bohnhoff led the Movin Maroons (12-4) with 10 points.
Jackson Icenogle had eight points. Brock Niemerg had five points and Gavin French and Ezra Cook had three points.