Hearts Play Stellar Half, but Mattoon Comes Back for Win

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Published on February 20 2017 11:31 pm
Last Updated on February 21 2017 7:07 am
Written by Greg Sapp

The Effingham Hearts held Mattoon to 12 points in the first half, but couldn't keep them down after intermission. The Green Wave poured in 44 second half points and defeated Effingham 56-52 at the Class 3A Decatur MacArthur Girls Basketball Sectional Tournament, bringing the Hearts' season to an end.

The game was heard on 979XFM and www.979xfm.com.

It was the second quarter that had Hearts' fans thinking that the third time might be the charm after losing to Mattoon twice earlier in the season. Leading 8-6 as the quarter began, Effingham outscored Mattoon 16-6 in the period to lead 24-12 at halftime.

Unfortunately, Effingham couldn't sustain its defensive excellence in the second half. Mattoon outscored Effingham 23-13 in the third quarter and had pulled in front before Aly Armstrong's three gave the Hearts the lead back 37-35 at quarter's end.

The game went back-and-forth in the final quarter with Mattoon eventually taking more than a one-possession lead. The Hearts had their chances in the fourth, but couldn't convert, didn't shoot well from the line, and committed a couple of costly turnovers.

Meanwhile, the Mattoon duo of Avery Jackson and Sierra Thompson started scoring as is usually expected. After combining for 10 points in the first half, the pair totaled 37 points in the second half to key the Mattoon comeback.

The Hearts didn't have one of their better offensive nights, hitting 20 of 49 shots, 41%, including 5 of 14 threes. EHS made 7 of 12 foul shots, and grabbed 31 rebounds.

Mattoon hit 47% of its shots, 22 of 47, including 4 of 15 threes. The Lady Wave made 8 of 14 foul shots, and pulled down 28 rebounds.

Avery Jackson with 25 points and Sierra Thompson with 22 points paced Mattoon. Bella Coffey scored 7 points and Ashlyn McDonald 2. Thompson pulled down a whopping 17 rebounds.

For Effingham, Carsyn Fearday and Miranda Fox each scored 19 points. Shelby Myers scored 7 points, Aly Armstrong 3, and Bria Barr and Skyler Schafer 2 apiece.

Mattoon improved to 30-1 and will play Rochester Thursday at 7pm for the sectional championship. The Hearts close their season with a 26-5 record and say goodbye to seniors Sidney Webster, Riya Shah, Mikayla Greene and Alexis Damron.

Class 3A Decatur MacArthur Sectional

EFFINGHAM (52)

Fearday 8-14 1-1 19, Armstrong 1-6 0-0 3, Fox 6-13 5-9 19, Barr 1-3 0-0 2, Myers 3-7 1-2 7, Webster 0-2 0-0 0, Schafer 1-3 0-0 2, Carie 0-1 0-0 0. TOTALS 20-49 FG, 7-12 FT.

MATTOON (56)

Nichols 0-2 0-0 0, Jackson 10-22 4-7 25, Thopmson 9-14 2-3 22, McDonald 1-3 0-0 2, Coffey 2-5 2-4 7, Lee 0-1 0-0 0. TOTALS 22-47 FG, 8-14 FT.

Effingham          8    16    13    15    --    52

Mattoon             6      6    23    21    --    56

3-point FG -- Effingham 5 (Fearday 2, Fox 2, Armstrong 1), Mattoon 4 (Jackson 1, Thompson 2, Coffey 1).