Start to finish, Blue Devils maintain command in first victory of new year

QUINCY — Mark this victory down as comfortably easy.

The Quincy High School girls basketball team’s 63-42 victory over Springfield Southeast did not quite qualify as a blowout, but neither was it a nailbiter.

“It felt a lot closer than a 21-point game, but at several points it seemed like we were going to blow it wide open,” QHS coach Brad Dance said.

The Saturday afternoon game was never in doubt, with Quincy leading from start to finish in front of a crowd of about 240. The win was the Blue Devils’ sixth in their last seven games, raising their record to 11-5. Southeast, which opened the season 10-0, now sits 11-7.

Jada Brown’s 25-point, five-rebound performance paced QHS, which led 19-6 at the end of the first quarter and by 17 points at the end of the third quarter. The 5-foot-11 sophomore is averaging 21.1 points per game across her last eight outings. Brown has scored 20 or more points in six of those eight games and has been in double figures 18 straight contests, dating to the end of her freshman season.

Brown received strong support from Madelyn Hamby and Kate Mettemeyer, who combined for 23 points and 11 boards.

Neither Hamby nor Mettemeyer are surprised by the Blue Devils’ recent surge.

“We’re unselfish, we’re all close friends and we all look for one another out there,” said Hamby, a 5-foot-8 junior who pocketed 13 points and secured five rebounds.

Hamby, who scored 10 of her points in the first half, also swished a troika of 3-pointers. Hamby (27) is second to Miley Longcor (37) in Blue Devil 3-pointers.

The 5-foot-7 Mettemeyer, the only senior on the QHS roster, further emphasized Hamby’s thought about how much team bonding has figured into the Blue Devils’ success.

“We all like one another,” said Mettemyer, who following a solid 10-point, six-rebound effort noted the Blue Devils would be gathering for a team dinner Saturday night.

Mettemeyer, who could be a key figure down the stretch for Quincy, has been logging some extra practice time to help boost her production.

“I haven’t been scoring as much as I should have, so it’s nice to see from Saturday’s (performance) some improvement after the extra work,” she said.

Dance was equally pleased to see Mettemeyer emerging as a key figure. 

“Kate played really well,” he said. “Her job is to catch and score.”

Freshman guard Khloe Nicholson, who along with running the offense much of the time, swings down low to utilize her 6-foot-1 frame to aid Brown in Quincy’s rebounding effort. Nicholson scored nine points and was one of five QHS players with at least five rebounds, helping Quincy to a 32-30 edge on the boards.

Nicholson is averaging 7.2 rebounds over her last five games, which is second only to Brown’s 7.6. 

Naveahua Collier’s 19-point, 7-rebound showing led Southeast.

“We’re probably about where we should be right now,” Dance said. “We need to continue to work on our defense. We can wear teams down with our offense, but we’re still learning (on defense).”

Mettemeyer feels a good overall litmus test for the Blue Devils will come when they face Western Big 6 foes Sterling and Galesburg in a few weeks.

“We’ll have a good idea of where we’re at after those games,” she said.

Both Sterling and Galesburg defeated Quincy in December by a combined four points. Sterling knocked off QHS 48-46 and Galesburg downed the Blue Devils 44-41. The rematches are Jan. 30 at Galesburg and Feb. 1 at Sterling. Quincy is currently 3-3 in the WB6, Galesburg 6-0 and Sterling 4-1.

Addi Zanger photos