Raiders put cap on fifth straight conference championship by overwhelming Eagles in first half

LIBERTY, Ill. — Any worries about a potential letdown were quickly extinguished.

Two nights after posting an emotional victory over crosstown rival Quincy High School, the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team wasted little time in taking control in a West Central Conference matchup with Liberty.

The state-ranked Raiders forced 16 turnovers and limited the youthful Eagles to just four field goals to build a 27-point halftime lead Thursday night and coast to a 56-20 win to wrap up their fifth consecutive league championship.

“There was some concern because we got out of school early (Wednesday) and did not have practice, and we didn’t want to have a letdown after a really big win on Tuesday,” QND coach Eric Orne said, referring to the 66-55 victory over the Blue Devils.

“I told the girls we have to be motivated for something. (With the win) we won the conference for the fifth straight year, and we got for the fourth straight year to at least 25 victories. So, those were little things we came in somewhat motivated for.”

That proved to be motivation enough.

The Raiders (25-2, 7-0 WCC) scored the game’s opening seven points and led 17-2 after one quarter. They stretched the advantage to 36-9 at halftime and had their biggest lead at 51-10 with two minutes left in the third quarter when their starters had already departed. The final period was played with a running clock.

“After the first couple of minutes, when we got our legs going, we started dominating with our press,” Orne said.

Sage Stratton scored 10 of her game-high 13 points in the first half. Tristan Pieper, Ari Buehler and Jenna Durst finished with 10 points each despite playing limited minutes for QND, ranked third in Class 3A.

The loss was the fourth straight and eighth in 10 games for Liberty (12-15, 2-5 WCC). The Eagles, with 10 of their 11 players either freshmen or sophomores, turned the ball over 25 times overall. Three of their eight made field goals came in the final quarter.

The Raiders will face tests against Clopton (Mo.) on Friday night and Alton on Saturday night in the KHQA-American Family Superfan Shootout at The Pit.

Clopton (17-2) is tied for third in the Missouri Class 2 state poll. The Hawks’ only losses have come against Central-Southeastern and Highland (Mo.).

Alton, meanwhile, is 25-2 and ranked fourth in Illinois Class 4A. The Redbirds had their 24-game winning streak snapped Feb. 1 by four-time defending Missouri Class 6 state champion Incarnate Word Academy 60-48.

“Clopton has some great shooters with the Spoonster girls (Charleigh and Tinleigh),” Orne said. “It’s always kind of been a rivalry game with our shootout. Then we have to come back with just an absolute beast of a team in Alton. That will be a tough matchup.”

QND, which learned Thursday it earned the top seed in its sub-sectional, will honor its seniors before the Clopton game. The Raiders close out the regular season Feb. 13 by hosting Jefferson City (Mo.) Helias.

“The next three are big games and will have playoff fever,” Orne said. “That’s good for us. Hopefully we’ll make some adjustments and have some success. But like we continue to tell (the players), just take it one game at a time.”