Eftink shrugs off off-kilter shooting to make clutch free throws, send QND girls to state final four

BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — Disbelief. It spread across Blair Eftink’s face.

With 23.8 seconds remaining in Monday night’s Class 2A Beardstown Super-Sectional and the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team clinging to a two-point lead, Eftink had the chance to provide a little bit of separation.

Instead, her first free-throw attempt in a 1-and-1 situation rattled off the rim.

It had been that kind of night.

“My shots didn’t seem to fall,” said Eftink, the junior guard who had missed three free throws at that point. “Any of them.”

It didn’t deter her from calling for the ball, getting fouled and going back to the charity stripe with 8.2 seconds remaining with an opportunity for redemption. Eftink smoothly sank two free throws, giving the Raiders enough cushion to beat Normal U-High 30-28 and advance to the Class 2A state final four Thursday at Illinois State University’s Redbird Arena in Bloomington.

“I just reminded myself that I don’t normally miss that many,” said Eftink, who finished with six points. “So I just tried to forget about those other ones and keep a positive mindset.”

Seeing the first free throw drop through the net changed her demeanor.

“After I made the first one, I was like, ‘I’ve got this now,’” Eftink said.

So did the Raiders, who struggled through a rough shooting night to get to face Pana (35-1) at 2:30 p.m. Thursday. Winnebago (34-2) and Minonk Fieldcrest (34-2) will tip at 4:15 p.m. in the other semifinal.

QND shot just 32.4 percent from the field overall and went just 1 of 10 from 3-point range. Eftink went 2 of 13 from the field and didn’t score until 2:08 remained in the third quarter, but she never lost confidence.

“She wanted the ball,” QND coach Eric Orne said. “That shows a lot of character and a lot of heart on her part.”

Eftink truly believed the Raiders would find a way to prevail.

“I thought we were going to win the whole time,” Eftink said. “Good teams are just going to keep coming back, so it’s important for us to keep the mindset that we’re going to win the game.

“It’s important that we came together as a team and figured out a way to get it done.”