QHS’s twin towers power way past Cairo Northwest during Rumble on the River victory

QUINCY — Taylor Fohey and Jada Brown are at opposite ends of their high school careers, one signed to play college basketball next season and the other about to finish the first semester of her freshman year.

Yet, when they meet in the middle, they are as formidable as any twin towers around.

Cairo (Mo.) Northwest discovered that Saturday.

Fohey and Brown combined for 36 points and 24 rebounds, outmuscling and outhustling the Bearcats’ frontcourt of 6-foot-2 Macie Harman and 5-foot-8 Avery Martin during Quincy High School’s 55-33 victory in the 16th Rumble on the River on John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center.

“We kind of took them out of what they wanted to do,” QHS coach Brad Dance said. “We knew they wanted to work it in. These two controlled what we needed to do.”

They did so by talking as much as anything.

“With us being able to communicate with each other, we took away their big girl,” said Fohey, the McKendree-bound senior forward who had 16 points, six rebounds, six steals and two blocked shots. “That put a lot on our guards to shut down the top, and they did a good job of that. We took them out of their game.

“The communication on defense kept us in the game.”

Brown had a big say in that, too.

The freshman forward recorded a double-double with 20 points and 18 rebounds to go with four assists and four steals. Her footwork, as well as her length, gives her an edge on the block and she’s shown the ability to play physical and big.

“It was really important to be physical because we knew they were a really good team,” Brown said. “We had to outwork them.”

From start to finish, that was the case. The Blue Devils (10-3) scored 22 first-quarter points, limited the Bearcats to six points in the second quarter and 32-17 at halftime. Nine of the 10 players who saw the court for the Blue Devils scored as they piled up 14 assists on 22 field goals.

It was the perfect way to bounce back after losing a Western Big 6 Conference game Thursday night at United Township.

“Our energy was there today,” Dance said. “We really got after it.”