Maple Leafs respond to Blue Devils’ challenge, win 30th consecutive game

QUINCY — Geneseo’s 30th consecutive girls basketball victory further legitimized its ranking as the No. 1 Class 3A team in the state.

The Maple Leafs emerged from a one-point halftime deficit to hit Quincy High School with a 16-0 blitzkrieg at the outset of the third quarter.

Following that outburst, it was not a matter if Geneseo would win, simply by how much. The Maple Leafs rode the talent of star guard Kammie Ludwig to a 55-39 Western Big 6 Conference victory Thursday night, raising their record to 19-0 overall and 8-0 in the conference. Quincy fell to 6-6 overall and 3-5 in the WB6.

Geneseo has not lost since midway through last season’s truncated schedule when it closed with 11 straight victories. Geneseo has won 15 of its 19 games this season by 16 or more points.

Quincy coach Brad Dance was still feeling the effects of Geneseo’s post-intermission outburst well after the game ended.

“They came out in the second half and punched us in the mouth,” Dance said.

Figuratively, of course, but effective nonetheless.

“We didn’t match that kind of intensity,” Dance said. “They’re No. 1 in the state for a reason.”

Triggering the Maple Leafs’ eruption was Ludwig, a 5-foot-10 senior guard who is bound for Providence of the Big East Conference. Ludwig produced 12 of her game-best 26 points in the third period when Geneseo outscored Quincy 23-5. The Maple Leafs had trailed at the break 23-22, but led 45-28 at the end of the third.

“Quincy was ready for us, and we weren’t ready for them,” Geneseo coach Scott Hardison said in praise of the Blue Devils’ effort over the first 16 minutes.

But a performer like Ludwig, who is a virtual shoo-in for WB6 Player of the Year, can make up for her team’s otherwise slow start and most other shortcomings on most nights.

“She’s the best player I’ve coached in the (decade-plus) that I have been here,” Hardison said. “She gives us that (competitive edge) we need. She gets us going.”

While most of Ludwig’s game unfolds on and around the perimeter, when needed she can also drive the lane and mix it up inside. Ludwig nailed three of Geneseo’s 12 3-point field goals and also served as the chief ballhandler when the occasion arose.

“She works out every morning at 5 a.m. She does everything you would expect of a Division I athlete,” Hardison said.

Geneseo toppled Quincy 57-21 in the first meeting Nov. 23, a game that saw no Quincy player score more than seven points. 

“We got beat by 36 points in that first game,” Dance said. “We played much better this time, but there are still areas where we need to improve.”

In particular, Dance pointed to concentration and ballhandling as areas of concern. In that decisive third quarter, Quincy turned the ball over nine times, most of those coming from a Geneso press that helped the Maple Leafs take control of the game.

Taylor Fohey led Quincy with 14 points, earning 11 of those in the first half. Leil Dade scored eight and Asia Seangmany six.

Quincy opened the season 5-1, but has dropped five of its last six.