Raiders with strong bounce-back effort in taking wind out of Cyclones in first half

QUINCY — That first-half performance from the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team did not escape the eye of Raiders coach Eric Orne. 

“We were fully engaged,” Orne said. 

QND’s eventual 43-31 margin of victory over Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin did not do justice to how the Raiders took control and dominated the first half Thursday night at The Pit.

By intermission, Notre Dame (8-1) had built a 30-12 advantage, and two of the Raiders players — sophomore forward Tristan Pieper and junior guard Sage Stratton — had combined for 25 points.

“We were doing a lot of good things, especially on defense,” Orne said. “We were able to get some transition baskets off of our defense.”

With the game all but decided at halftime, the Raiders experienced a mild letdown in the second half. Sacred Heart-Griffin (5-4) outscored QND 19-13 over the third and fourth quarters.

The 6-foot Pieper, who continues to develop as the season progresses, said the opening minutes of the second half set the tone for a rather lackluster performance by the Raiders over the closing two quarters.

“The first three minutes of the second half are always important, and we did not play as well as we could have,” said Pieper, who finished with game highs of 17 points and six rebounds.

Pieper scored 15 of her points in the first half, three off her career high. She also buried three 3-point field goals. As a team, Notre Dame connected on seven 3-pointers, five coming in the first half.

Orne also gave Sacred Heart-Griffin some credit, too.

“I think we got flustered a little in the second half with their high-pressure defense,” he said.

SHG forced 12 second-half turnovers by QND. The Raiders’ defense forced just four turnovers by the Cyclones in the second half. 

There was an underlying motive behind Notre Dame’s fast start, according to both Stratton and Orne. The Raiders were coming off their first loss of the season, 45-34 at Pleasant Plains earlier this week.

“We wanted to come out strong after that Pleasant Plains loss,” Stratton said. “Good defense was a key for us in the first half.”

Stratton finished with 15 points and five rebounds. She matched Pieper with three 3-point field goals.

“I’m glad we were able to bounce back, and while I don’t think we kept up our intensity in the second half, we took some big steps in (the process of) emotional maturity,” Orne said. 

No Sacred Heart-Griffin player scored more than six points.

Meredith Eversman had six points for QND in support of Pieper and Stratton.

QND played without starting forward Jenna Durst, a 5-10 sophomore and another of the Raiders’ multiple perimeter threats. Durst injured her knee against Pleasant Plains, but Orne is optimistic she has avoided any serious damage and is hoping to have her back in the not-too-distant future.

QND plays five games between Dec. 11 and 18, including a pair of interesting intra-area matchups against Palmyra (Dec. 12) and Central-Southeastern (Dec. 18). Both of those games will be at The Pit.

“The Pit should be rockin’ for those games,” Orne said.

Central-Southeastern currently stands 5-0 and Palmyra 3-0.