Second-quarter surge carries top-ranked Raiders to victory in milestone moment for Orne

QUINCY — Eric Orne’s milestone moment came at home … sort of.

The Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball coach reached the 500 career victory plateau Friday night with a 58-42 victory over Mascoutah in the opening game of the four-day, 16-game Rumble on the River at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center.

Although the game took place in the Gem City and came on the heels of the Raiders playing five consecutive road games, it technically wasn’t a home game since it wasn’t at The Pit.

That doesn’t diminish the outcome or the significance of it.

The Raiders went on a 13-2 run over the final four minutes of the first half to erase a two-point deficit and extended the lead to as many as 18 points in the third quarter to take pressure off chasing Orne’s milestone victory.

Now in his 21st season overall, Orne owns a 500-117 record with four state championships and seven state trophies. His teams have won 20 or more games 15 times, and at 14-1 already, this year’s team is well on its way to reaching that mark before the end of January.

Neither team led by more than three points and there were seven ties in the first 12 minutes with QND’s Sage Stratton scoring off a Jenna Durst assist to tie the game at 22 with 4:04 remaining in the first half. Stratton made the subsequent free throw to finish a three-point play and give QND the lead.

That kickstarted the game-turning run. Blair Eftink scored the Raiders’ next three field goals as the lead reached 33-24 going to halftime. 

After Mascoutah’s Kate Schneider scored off a turnover to open the second half, QND went on an 11-0 run with four different players scoring.

Abbey Schreacke led the Raiders with 20 points and six rebounds, while Eftink finished with 16 points and Stratton had 10 points and five assists.