Crim: QND’s quest to repeat bookends four decades of championship success that began with 1983 title team

QUINCY — The Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team begins its quest this week for a second consecutive Illinois Class 2A state championship and seventh overall in program history.

Only Chicago Marshall with eight has captured more titles since the first girls champion was crowned in 1977.

Adding to the potential legacy of another first-place trophy is that it would come during the 40th anniversary season of the program’s first.

On March 26, 1983, in Assembly Hall in Champaign, the Raiders became the first unbeaten small school champion in the four-year history of the class system.

Ranked No. 1 in the final regular season poll, they outlasted third-ranked Rushville in the championship game after dispensing with second-ranked Walther Lutheran the previous day in the semifinals to finish 30-0.

The triumph capped a gritty three-year climb for QND, which had lost to Chicago Christian in the 1981 championship game and was defeated by eventual champion Maple Park Kaneland in the 1982 semifinals, settling for third place.

“It took us three years, but we finally made it to No. 1,” the Quincy Herald-Whig reported co-captain Joyce Venvertloh declaring during a celebration the next day. “Personally, we think we look pretty stunning in gold.”

Indeed, they did. Yet, the Raiders didn’t stop there.

They won 30 of 32 games the following season to repeat as champions. They matched, then exceeded, that feat by capturing three straight championships from 2011-13 after losing the 2010 title game to Bloomington Central Catholic.

A semifinal loss to Joliet Catholic in 2014 prevented QND from reaching the championship game — first in Class 2A, then in 3A — an astonishing five seasons in a row.

But back to the 1982-83 season.

“There were a lot of multi-sport athletes in our starting five who had success in other sports,” said Lori Vogel, a junior guard and leading scorer on that team, noting QND already owned state titles in softball and volleyball. “Not going to state was never an option. Going to state in every sport was just what we did.

“The goal was to always win the state championship. We played for third place the year before, and nobody wants to play in the third-place game. There was a fire in our belly heading into that season.”

The Raiders were a team long on most everything — size, quickness, rebounding, shooting, experience. They scored more than 60 points in all but three games — the title game being one of the exceptions — and averaged more than 73 points per game that season.

Susan Wellman and Becky Winking, two 5-foot-11 juniors, and 5-9 senior Kim Hessing comprised an imposing front line. Vogel and Venvertloh made up the starting backcourt. They could beat teams in a myriad of ways.

“We had a lot of weapons to score,” Vogel said. “Susan Wellman was a beast inside. Kim Hessing, Becky Winking … I could dish off to anybody. We never had to worry about an off night because there was not one person who had to carry the team.

“We posed problems for teams defensively. Abbey (Schreacke) gets double- and triple-teamed a lot this year. They couldn’t do that against our team. If they had, another person would have dropped in 35.”

That was apparent in the state tournament, despite Vogel hobbled with a swollen right ankle she injured in practice hours before the quarterfinal game against Teutopolis.

“We take pride in our defense,” Wooden Shoes coach Dennis Koester told The Herald-Whig beforehand. “If Quincy’s going to score points, they’ll have to earn them.”

Earn them, they did. The Raiders shot 59% from the field en route to a 72-49 thumping. Hessing (22 points), Wellman (18), Vogel (13) and Winking (11) all scored in double figures.

The following morning in the semifinals, QND was even better, making 68% of its shots to roll to a 72-58 victory over Walther Lutheran, an opponent that entered the contest yielding just 32 points per game. Hessing (18), Winking (18), Wellman (14) and Vogel (14) again led the scoring parade.

That set up a rematch with Rushville in the championship game on Saturday afternoon. The then-unbeaten teams had met in February in the finals of the Central Invitational Tournament.

The Rockets nearly erased a 14-point deficit entering the fourth quarter in the first meeting with their relentless defensive pressure, clawing within two. Vogel fed Winking for a crucial basket with 16 seconds remaining and then sank three free throws in the final eight seconds to preserve a 66-61 victory.

With that and Vogel’s injury in mind, QND coach Marvin Smith, with an assist from QND boys coach Bob Kies, opted to have Hessing handle the ball as a press breaker in the state title game.

“Rushville was one of the best defensive teams we played all year,” Vogel said. “They put the kind of pressure on us that I could not handle with the ankle. (Hessing) played post, but she was an excellent ballhandler and was smart.

“She stepped up at a time when we needed her to step up.”

Hessing, who entered the tournament as the team’s third-leading scorer at 12 points per game, continued her torrid scoring by hitting her first six shots and finishing with a game-high 24 points.

The Raiders erased a five-point halftime deficit to take the lead for good in the third quarter and went on to win 57-53. Wellman and Winking combined for 22 points and 24 rebounds as the winners shot 52% from the floor, overcoming an 11-for-22 showing from the free-throw line.

In all, QND broke or tied 13 existing state tournament records.

Smith then, and Vogel now, give Kies, who passed away in 2013, considerable credit for the team’s postseason success. At a time when many boys coaches didn’t acknowledge girls teams, let alone offer a helping hand, Kies volunteered his services after his team was eliminated in the sectional earlier that month.

“I’m not sure any of the other teams were lucky to have what we had,” Vogel said. “(Kies) knew basketball inside and out. His basketball IQ was off the charts.

“He did all the scouting for us and came to practice. We had an excellent game plan for every team we played. He was a huge part of our success that year.”

Now, 40 years later, Vogel appreciates having played a role, first as a player and later as an assistant coach, in a basketball program that has evolved into one of the state’s best.

“We had no idea at the time that QND would have this kind of success, not just in basketball but in girls sports across the board,” she said.

Of course, she would like nothing more than to see these Raiders, a team she says has been “battle-tested” by a taxing schedule and has “the experience for a deep postseason run,” hoist another championship trophy.

“Winning one state championship is hard, but winning back-to-back is even harder,” Vogel said from experience. “They are ready.”