EFFINGHAM —
The St. Anthony defense came to play on Monday night in Altamont, allowing only one point to the Indians in the first quarter of the contest.
The Bulldogs would eventually force 27 turnovers and allow only 17 total points in their 37-17 victory over Altamont.
The Bulldog defense also came out strong in the third quarter, again allowing only one point in the period.
St. Anthony coach Bart Wiedman said he was pleased to see all the hard work his team has put in starting to pay off.
"We played really well defensively," he said. "It's one of those things we're working on a lot and hopefully we get better at."
The Altamont defense was swarming the ball all night long as well, forcing St. Anthony into 24 turnovers of its own.
Wiedman said the tough defense from the Indians made it nearly impossible to get into a rhythm offensively.
"That's a testament to (Altamont coach Katie Lurkins') girls; not letting us start our offense and forcing us into mistakes," he said.
Makayla Walsh was the leading scorer for the Bulldogs, scoring all eight of her points in the second half after battling foul trouble in the first half.
Megan Nuxoll added seven points and Kate Richards and Lauren Wendt each had six for St. Anthony.
Abbe Stevenson had six points to lead Altamont. Macy Wendling added five points.
Lurkins said the defense played well, but the team still has a lot of work to do offensively.
"We've struggled scoring throughout our five games so far," she said. "We have to take what we're doing in practice and transfer it to games. I told the girls, ÔTomorrow's practice, we're going to get better and I'm going to coach better.'"
The Indians don't have any seniors on their roster, so Lurkins and the coaching staff are still looking for players to gain varsity experience and get comfortable in their roles.
"We're going to have challenge ourselves in practice and see who's going to step up," she said. "We've got the athleticism and we've got the drive, now we just need to work on putting it all together."
St. Anthony will continue to work on its stifling defense this week as the Bulldogs prepare for a tough upcoming schedule. The team will play CHBC on Thursday and has a game against Teutopolis next week.
"We've got to get in the gym," Wiedman said. "We're going to work hard no matter who we play, but we'll just do whatever we need to do to try and get a win on Thursday."
St. Anthony 37, Altamont 17
St. Anthony 6 12 12 7 Ñ 37
Altamont 1 8 1 7 Ñ 17
St. Anthony: Walsh 8 pts., Nuxoll 7, Richards 6, Wendt 6, Bushur 5, Mumm 3, Niebrugge 2
Altamont: Stevenson 6 pts., Wendling 5, Laatsch 2, Ohnesorge, M. 2, Ohnesorge, L. 1, Vaughn 1
