Shifting gears: Raiders ratchet up intensity in second half to put away Warriors in home debut

QUINCY — The Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team’s energy was far from coach Eric Orne’s liking in the first 16 minutes of the Raiders’ home opener against Hardin Calhoun on Friday.

“We weren’t playing Lady Raider basketball in the first half, just sluggish, a lot of standing around,” Orne said. “I thought with our first game at The Pit there would be some extra excitement, and there wasn’t.”

The Raiders cranked up that energy in the second half and turned a nine-point halftime lead into a 62-32 rout of the Warriors in the first game of the QND/Gully Transportation Tip-Off Tournament.

Orne’s halftime talk must have gotten through to the Raiders.

“We had a real heart-to-heart,” Orne said. “I would call it a pep talk.”

The Raiders ratcheted up the pressure on the defensive end, which Raiders senior guard Sage Stratton said tilted the scales drastically in their favor.

“We brought some of that tempo and started pressing a lot better, getting those tips,” Stratton said. “We started wanting the ball more, diving for it, just little hustle plays, those were the ones that really got us going.”

A Sierra Thomas steal and layup with 35 seconds left in the third quarter capped a 17-4 Raiders run to begin the second half. The Raiders made three 3-pointers during that stretch — all by different players — and Raiders senior forward Lauren Hummel, who made one of those 3-pointers, could feel that momentum shifting with each defensive stop and offensive score.

“We were wearing them out,” Hummel said. “We were just running up and down, and making those shots just really put the game away.”

QND kept the gas pedal mashed to the floor in the fourth quarter. The Raiders opened that frame with a 9-0 spurt, and every point of that run came on a 3-pointer.

Raiders junior point guard Ari Buehler said the Raiders fed off the chaos they created on the defensive end to get clean looks on offense.

“Once we started bringing more energy on defense, hustling, working for the ball more, that created more energy, more shots on offense,” Buehler said. “We want to make the other team work for their shot, which makes them a lot more tired, then when we push the ball on offense after playing good defense, it tires them out and we get good looks.”

Orne said the Raiders’ depth contributed to the Raiders wearing down the Warriors and creating open shots.

“Even though it didn’t show in the first half, it showed in the second half,” Orne said. “I thought Calhoun got tired. They weren’t getting out on those shots, and we just had a little more stamina than they did at that point because we were running eight or nine deep.”

Hummel made another triple in the fourth quarter — one of four the Raiders made in that quarter — and had 10 of her 12 points in the second half.

“Lauren had a great game, especially in the second half,” Orne said. “It was beyond the 3’s that she made. She was getting so many touches on the ball and disrupting everything they wanted to do.”

Hummel’s length and athleticism contributed to those deflections and takeaways, and her ability to score both inside and out helped the Raiders grow their lead.

“Obviously, it’s always good to go down and make a big shot because everybody goes crazy, but you can’t have that without playing tough on defense,” Hummel said.

Stratton racked up a game-high 16 points while maintaining her peskiness and high motor on both ends.

“She just keeps going. She’s the Energizer bunny,” Orne said. “She keeps finding ways to make our team stronger. She had a rough shooting night, but she didn’t go down in the dumps. She said, ‘Alright, I’ll knock down the next shot.’”

The Raiders (2-0) will host Carrollton in their second game of the tournament at 5 p.m. on Saturday.