QND girls basketball team ramps up pressure, completes weekend sweep with easy victory

QUINCY — By the midpoint of the first quarter there was only one real question surrounding the Quincy Notre Dame-Warrenton girls basketball matchup that was playing out at The Pit.

Would Warrenton wind up with more points or turnovers by game’s end?

If your choice had been “points” you would have been correct, but only by a narrow margin.

QND’s ability to establish complete control early — both offensively and defensively — proved an impressive formula en route an easy 65-34 victory Saturday night during the closing round of the Gully Transportation Shootout.

In the first quarter, Notre Dame (4-0) pressured Warrenton (1-2) into 13 turnovers while building a 27-10 advantage. By halftime, the Raiders led 39-20 and Warrenton had coughed the ball up 21 times.

QND completely lowered the boom in the third period, outscoring Warrenton 27-8 to own a 61-28 lead. The fourth quarter was played with a running clock. Warrenton had 26 turnovers through three periods and finished with 28.

Blair Eftink paced QND with 20 points, supported by Abbey Schreacke and Sage Stratton, who both meshed 14. Raiders coach Eric Orne made free use of his bench throughout the game or the margin of victory would have been decidedly worse.

“We didn’t have to rely on one scorer,” said Orne, in reference to all-stater Schreacke, who had pocketed 35 points the preceding night in a 64-61 win over Butler College Prep and was averaging 27.3 points going into Saturday night.

Orne said the game against Warrenton allowed the Raiders to work on their depth in preparation for an upcoming meatgrinder portion of their schedule that shows 12 games in the next three weeks.

“We showed good balance and moved the ball well — one of those small steps in a long season,” Orne said. “I like where we’re at right now.”

Eftink earned plaudits for her performance, which followed a frustrating seven-point outing against Butler. She said she had her own private practice Saturday morning, with help from her dad, Chad.

“I just tried to be ready to go,” Eftink said. “I just tried to shake off Friday night.” 

And she did just that.

Eftink scored nine points in the first quarter to fuel QND’s early charge.

“Blair got off to a good start,” Orne said. “She’s a big-shot player. It was good to see her bounce back from Friday night.”

Ari Buehler added nine points for the Raiders, while Jenna Durst topped QND rebounders with five.

Nevaeh Hill led Warrenton with 18 points and 11 rebounds.