Schuck on a Truck: Stratton guides QND girls basketball team to remarkable success, earns Player of the Year honor

QUINCY — Standing in the hallway leading from the locker room to the gym in Illini West High School, Sage Stratton experienced a moment that set her up to be a leader, a contributor and arguably one of Quincy Notre Dame’s all-time greats.

The Raiders had just beaten Illini West 40-38 in a battle of state-ranked teams in Carthage, Ill., in January 2022 when Stratton, then a freshman, was in tears feeling she had let her team down.

A five-second call on an inbounds play gave Illini West possession with 4.3 seconds remaining in regulation and the opportunity to tie the game or win it with a last-second shot. Stratton had been the trigger man on the inbounds play, and she took not getting the ball inbounded personally.

In that hallway, all-state guard Abbey Schreacke, who moments earlier hit the game-winning shot, put her arm around Stratton and gave her a pep talk. Arguably the best player in program history inspiring the next great one. It was a moment never to be forgotten.

Asked about the moment after the gym and the hallway had cleared, Schreacke said, “just reminding her we’ve all been there and you learn from it. You have to go through it to know how to handle it.”

Three years later, as a senior leader and all-stater, Stratton found herself doing many of the same things Schreacke did back then — encouraging, counseling, imploring and guiding — as the Raiders hustled and fought their way to a fourth-place finish at the Class 3A state tournament.

It capped a remarkable career for Stratton, who played and started every game of her career and helped the Raiders go 125-15 over that span with three straight state trophies, including a state championship. As a senior, she averaged 15.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists, but her impact went far beyond her numbers.

That’s why she was selected the 2024-25 Muddy River Sports Player of the Year.

Stratton joined Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman on the tailgate of his pickup to discuss her senior season, her career and the success of the QND program for this special episode of “Schuck on a Truck,” brought to you by Shottenkirk Toyota.