Schreacke, Raiders pass first major road test by fending off Senators

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Springfield girls basketball team got off to a sizzling start.

Quincy Notre Dame had a better finish.

Despite falling behind 7-0 out of the gate and getting outscored 10-5 in the first three minutes of the third quarter, the state-ranked Raiders turned to junior guard Abbey Schreacke down the stretch and let her power them to 62-54 victory at Willard Duey Gym.

QND, which is No. 2 in the Class 2A state poll, improved to 13-0 in its first game since December 22. The Raiders did not play in a holiday tournament and had Monday’s game against Pleasant Plains canceled because the Cardinals were dealing with COVID protocols.

This also was the Raiders’ first trip outside of Adams County this season.

“It was a lot longer break than we wanted,” Orne said. “We came out in one of our first real road games and knew we had our hands full. We came out and played well.”

Despite the slow start, the Raiders outscored the Senators 24-8 to go up 24-15 at the end of the first quarter. They led by as many as 12 points in the second quarter and went to halftime up 34-29. The Senators closed the gap to as little as three points in the fourth quarter before Schreacke scored with a minute to play.

It stayed a two-possession game the rest of the way.

Schreacke finished with 33 points and 10 boards, while Blair Eftink added 12 points. Kaleah Toran led Springfield with 24 points.