Published on February 3, 2026 7:59 am
Last Updated on February 3, 2026 7:59 am
BY MILLIE LANGE
The big guns were firing right and left Monday evening as Effingham St. Anthony played host to North Clay in girls high school basketball.
Four players would finished in double figures as the Bulldogs went on for a 74-38 romp over the Cardinals.
It started out slow as the Bulldogs moved into a 10-7 opening quarter lead. Addie Lauritzen and Lilly Gannaway led the way in that opening quarter. Lauritzen connected on two baskets for four points while Gannaway hit a basket and a free throw for three.
The Cardinals hung close behind a three-pointer by Violet Price.
The lid came off the baskets as both teams started to roll offensively. St. Anthony put together a 27 point run while North Clay wasn’t far behind with 20.
Nancy Ruholl, after putting in one free throw in the opening quarter, found the net with three baskets, one a three-pointer and five of six at the line for 12 points. Ali Kollmann got in the action with seven points on three baskets and a free throw.
Meanwhile, six players scored for the Cardinals. Mila Zink hit a basket and was four of four at the line for six points while Ava Fleener put in a three-pointer and two free throws for five.
The Bulldogs went into the half with a 37-27 lead.
After halftime, Ruholl continued on in the third quarter scoring 11 points on a regular basket, two three-pointers and three of four at the line. The Bulldogs pushed their lead to 59-37.
St. Anthony then ended on a 15-1 final period run for the victory.
Ruholl finished with 29 points hitting eight field goals, four from three-point range, and nine of 12 at the line. Three other players were also in double digits. Kollmann scored 13 points while Gannaway and Lauritzen ended with 12 points each.
Lauritzen and Kollmann led the team in rebounds with eight each. Ruholl led in assits with six while Kollmann had five. Ruholl and Gannaway had three steals each.
North Clay was led by Zink with 11 points on two field goals and seven of eight at the line. Fleener chipped in with eight. The Cardinals fell to 4-21 on the season and will celebrate Senior Night Thursday against Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg.
St. Anthony improved to 6-0 in the National Trail Conference and is 17-8 overall. The Bulldogs will now play host to Brownstown/St. Elmo, ranked No. 4 in the latest Class 1A State Basketball Poll, Thursday.
At St. Anthony
NORTH CLAY (38)
Price 2-2 — 7, Romack 2-2 — 6, Thompson 0-3 — 3, Zink 2-7 — 11, Fleener 2-3 — 8, Hagen 0-0 — 0, A. Phillips 1-1 — 3, B. Phillips 0-0 — 0, Sparks 0-0 — 0, Bible 0-0 — 0. TOTALS 9 FG, 18 FT.
ST. ANTHONY (74)
Grunloh 0-0 — 0, Gannaway 4-3 — 12, Hoke 0-0 — 0, Vineyard 0-0 — 0, Ruholl 8-9 — 29, Patel 0-0 — 0, Henning 0-0 — 0, Schultz 1-0 — 2, Vonderheide 3-0 — 6, Kollmann 6-1 –13, Lauritzen 6-0 — 12, Kelley 0-0 — 0. TOTALS 28 FG, 13 FT.
North Clay 7 20 10 1 — 38
St. Anthony 10 27 22 15 — 74
3-point FG — North Clay 2 (Price 1, Fleener 1), St. Anthony 5 (Ruholl 4, Gannaway 1).