Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
December 21, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
Girls Basketball At the Pit, Quincy Quincy Notre Dame 49, Central-Southeastern 35: The Raiders led 30-21 at halftime as Sage Stratton scored 11 points and Abbey Schreacke added 10, and that lead grew to as many as 14 points in the third quarter. The Panthers scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to…
Read Full Article December 21, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
WESTVILLE, Ind. — The Quincy University women’s basketball players are taking some good vibes home for the holidays. Scoring their first victory of the season against an NCAA Division II program on the road certainly makes it easier to celebrate. The Hawks led from start to finish Monday, extending the advantage over Purdue Northwest to…
Read Full Article December 20, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Mackenzie Bellows had started her road trip home to Calgary, Alberta, to spend the holidays with her family when Quincy University athletic director Josh Rabe asked if she’d have time for a phone call the next morning. “I said he’s either going to ruin this trip for me or he’s going to make…
Read Full Article December 20, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — No matter what the Quincy University men’s basketball players find wrapped beneath their Christmas trees, it may pale in comparison to what they received Sunday. They were blessed with the gift of momentum. By outscoring Davenport 18-6 over the final 5 minutes, 17 seconds of regulation, the Hawks head into the holiday break…
Read Full Article December 19, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Jeremiah Talton hurt. Understandably so. Friday night, in the Quincy High School boys basketball team’s 63-49 victory over Moline in Western Big 6 Conference play at Blue Devil Gym, the Maroons chose to defend the league’s leading scorer by putting a defender chest-to-chest with the 6-foot-6 swingman. Talton got bumped on every cut…
Read Full Article December 19, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
Boys Basketball At The Pit, Quincy Quincy High School 59, Quincy Notre Dame 37. Click here for the story and photo gallery. At Havana, Ill. Illini West 51, Havana 46: The Chargers trailed by four with 30 seconds remaining in regulation, but rallied to force overtime and plucked the Ducks in the extra session. Nolan…
Read Full Article December 19, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Andy Douglas didn’t need to be boisterous with his halftime speech Saturday night. The Quincy High School boys basketball coach didn’t have to say much at all. “The guys were already talking about what we needed to do before I got in the locker room,” Douglas said. “A lot of it was said…
Read Full Article December 18, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — The Hansen-Spear Funeral Home Holiday Classic is now a two-game affair. The Quincy University men’s basketball program’s annual pre-Christmas event was originally scheduled to be a four-team, four-game showcase taking place Saturday and Sunday at Pepsi Arena. Now, it’s a three-team, two-game weekend. McKendree informed tournament organizers Friday it could not make the…
Read Full Article December 18, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
Boys Basketball At Blue Devil Gym, Quincy Quincy High School 63, Moline 49. Click here for the story and photo gallery. At Camp Point, Ill. Quincy Notre Dame 43, Central 38: Click here for the story. At Mendon, Ill. Palmyra 55, Unity 48: Bear Bock did a little of everything for the Panthers, finishing with…
Read Full Article December 18, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — The innocence of youth and the confidence of experience. It’s a lethal combination a trio of Quincy High School freshmen seem to possess, and their brashness, play-making ability and no-fear attitude is creating problems for the rest of the Western Big 6 Conference boys basketball teams. Friday night, Moline discovered how devastating those…
Read Full Article December 17, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
The text came close to midnight as Ric Bailey needed to know his daughter, Quincy University women’s basketball coach Kaci Bailey, hadn’t been in the path of the tornadoes that skirted the St. Louis area and created a path of destruction moving past Edwardsville, Ill. “He was making sure I’m OK,” Bailey said. At the…
Read Full Article December 17, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Conference clashes, a crosstown showdown and a cornucopia of games taking place at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center highlight the final weekend before the Christmas break. It starts with the Quincy High School boys basketball team, tied for first place in the Western Big 6 Conference with Rock Island, squares off…
Read Full Article December 17, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
Girls Basketball At QHS gym, Quincy Moline 44, Quincy High School 32. Click here for the story. At Carthage, Ill. Illini West 72, Liberty 13: The Chargers held the Eagles without a field goal in the first quarter, had six players score from the field over the first eight minutes and improved to 10-1 with…
Read Full Article December 17, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — For a nine-minute stretch spanning the end of the second quarter and the start of the third quarter Thursday night, the Moline girls basketball team didn’t score. Quincy High School didn’t chisel away at the deficit either. The Blue Devils trailed 28-14 after the Maroons’ Caroline Hazen scored off a drive down the…
Read Full Article December 16, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — For the seventh straight season, the Quincy High School and Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball teams will square off Saturday night in what has become a traditional pre-Christmas filled with spirit and a festive atmosphere befitting the holidays. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip at the Pit and will be…
Read Full Article December 16, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Jeremiah Talton’s breakaway, one-handed dunk in the third quarter last Friday night against Sterling added the punctuation mark to another blowout by the Quincy High School boys basketball team. Yet, it was his alley-oop dunk in the second quarter that kickstarted the rout. The Blue Devils led 26-17 when the Golden Warriors called…
Read Full Article December 16, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
MONROE CITY, Mo. — Joshua Talton made sure the title stayed in Title Town. A 6-foot senior guard on the Monroe City boys basketball team, Talton scored the first nine points in last Saturday’s championship game of the 97th annual Monroe City Tournament, propelling the top-seeded Panthers to a 77-36 victory over Highland and their…
Read Full Article December 16, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — One stop equaled one much-needed victory. The Quincy University women’s basketball team proved up to the task. Leading Iowa Wesleyan by three points with 13.3 seconds remaining in regulation Wednesday night at Pepsi Arena, the Hawks did not allow the Tigers an open look from the perimeter. Instead, Iowa Wesleyan was forced to…
Read Full Article December 16, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Every aspect of the Illinois State University men’s basketball team’s pregame routine Tuesday screamed energy and excitement. The Quincy University players and coaches took note. “They came out in warm-ups and their pre-game shoot was unbelievable,” Hawks coach Ryan Hellenthal said of the Redbirds’ approach to the exhibition game at Redbird Arena. “And…
Read Full Article December 15, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
Boys Basketball At The Pit, Quincy Quincy Notre Dame 50, Palmyra 30. Click here for the story and photo gallery. At Liberty, Ill. Liberty 79, Beardstown 35: Breiton Klingele scored 16 points in the first quarter as the Eagles built a 43-17 lead by halftime in improving to 7-1 overall. Klingele finished with 31 points.…
Read Full Article December 15, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Blake Bozarth’s teammates have seen his aggressive side in practice. And they know he’s more than just a spot-up 3-point shooter. “Most games, he doesn’t find the opportunity to attack off the dribble,” Quincy Notre Dame junior point guard Jake Hoyt said. “When he does, he’s pretty good at it.” Bozarth was effective…
Read Full Article December 15, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — The edge in experience led to his team’s 60-32 victory Tuesday night at the Pit, but Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball coach Eric Orne took note of the abundance of young talent Palmyra put on the floor. It’s a reason for trepidation in the years to come. “They’re going to be a load,”…
Read Full Article December 14, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
Andy Schmitt’s love of competition and sports morphed into a passion for the processes coaches, athletes and teams go through over the course of a season and beyond to elevate their game to a championship level. The Quincy High School graduate saw it first hand as a student manager with the University of Illinois men’s…
Read Full Article December 14, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
CANTON, Mo. — The record-setting and high-profile careers of Culver-Stockton College left tackle Andrew Rupcich and middle linebacker Dalton Huffman were capped Monday with both receiving American Football Coaches Association NAIA All-American honors. Rupcich was a first-team selection for a third straight season, while Huffman was a second-team pick who earned the first All-American honors…
Read Full Article December 14, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
Boys Basketball At Wardsville, Mo. Blair Oaks 68, Monroe City 50: Fresh off the championship of their own tournament, the Panthers ran out of gas in the fourth quarter, getting outscored 26-10 by the Falcons. Blair Oaks’ Northweather had 17 of his game-high 34 points in the fourth quarter. He also had 12 in the…
Read Full Article December 13, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
For the better part of six decades, small-school boys basketball teams from West Central Illinois had their state tournament aspirations hit an inevitable roadblock. They simply couldn’t circumvent the city schools. Whether that foe came from Quincy, Galesburg or Springfield, there was a program with a larger enrollment, more resources and a history of postseason…
Read Full Article December 12, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
Boys Basketball At Blue Devil Gym, Quincy Quincy High School 64, Batavia 61. Click here for the story. At The Pit, Quincy Quincy Notre Dame 51, Hannibal 38. Click here for the story and photo gallery. At Monroe City, Mo. 97th annual Monroe City Tournament Monroe City 77, Highland 36: The top-seeded Panthers won their…
Read Full Article December 12, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
RIVERTON, Ill. — One undefeated team was going to be denied the chance to play for a state championship The Quincy Junior High School eighth grade girls basketball team made sure it wasn’t the one. The Comets held Lake Zurich North to four points in the second quarter and single digits in all four quarters…
Read Full Article December 12, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
AUBURN, Ill. — Less than a second away from heading to overtime to decide the Class 3A seventh grade girls basketball state championship, Eureka drew a foul and needed just one free throw to secure the title. Mya Edwards went ahead and made all three. The Hornets guard was fouled on a 3-point attempt with…
Read Full Article December 12, 2021 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Add another tally to the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball program’s victory total. And much like many of the 1,500 victories celebrated in a pregame ceremony Saturday night at the Pit, this one took quite a bit of moxie. The Raiders overcame 9-of-20 shooting from the free-throw line and an off-kilter effort in…
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