Haase’s big effort pushes Hawks to weekend sweep and perfect start to season

CEDARVILLE, Ohio — Game by game, the Quincy University women’s basketball team is erasing eight seasons of frustration and futility.

After opening the season with a four-point victory Friday night — the Hawks hadn’t won a season opener since 2015 — they completed a weekend sweep in the GMAC/GLVC Regional Crossover by beating Cedarville 76-55 on the Callan Athletic Center.

It is the first time since the Hawks have swept a two-game, non-conference road trip since doing so twice in the 2015-16 season.

“That’s a lot of confidence,” QU coach Courtney Boyd said. “It was two completely different games. Wee had to grind the first one out, and we just found a way to finish a game. This one, it felt like it was a five-point game the entire way. They pressured us the entire second half. They were scrappy. They were physical. 

“So coming home winning two completely different styles of games and being able to be tested early, I don’t know who goes home without confidence after that.”

Playing with a shortened bench due to injuries makes the Hawks’ success more significant.

Quincy used only eight players in each game, but it didn’t deter the Hawks from outscoring the Yellowjackets 21-8 in the first seven-plus minutes. Cedarville pulled within 25-19 by the end of the first quarter, but Quincy responded more than adequately.

The Hawks scored the first six points of the second quarter, owned a 21-8 advantage in the second quarter and limited the Yellowjackets to 3-of-10 shooting from the field with five misses from 3-point range in the quarter.

“We figured out how to communicate early defensively, and I think that set us up to play a little bit faster in the transition game,” Boyd said. “It created some shots, and that led to us completely dominating on the boards.”

Quincy owned a 50-25 advantage in rebounds, held Cedarville to 35.1 percent shooting from the field and forced 16 turnovers. Meanwhile, the Hawks shot 43.1 percent from the field and had 18 assists on 25 field goals.

“We’re getting to the point come game time that it’s not going to matter who’s having a great game,” Boyd said. “We just have to figure out who that’s going to be. Our chemistry is allowing us to do that and not worry about who it is.”

Saturday, it was Taylor Haase. The forward, who is a graduate transfer, scored 25 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and 9-of-13 shooting from the free-throw line, while hauling in 12 rebounds, including eight offensive.

“Yeah, she didn’t struggle,” Boyd said. “We’ll take 25 points and 12 rebounds any night.”

Senior guard Karsyn Stratton finished with 12 points, six rebounds and five assists, while sophomore guard Mariann Blass had 10 points and four steals.

The Hawks (2-0) will open their home schedule when they face Roosevelt at 7 p.m. Friday in the Hansen Spear Funeral Home Classic at Pepsi Arena.