Titans give Raiders tussle, but third-quarter run tilts game in QND’s favor

QUINCY — Tristan Pieper cut right to the chase in her postgame assessment of the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team’s 60-54 victory over West Hancock.

“We knew they’d be strong,” said Pieper, a 6-foot sophomore who was one of four Raiders to score in double figures Thursday night at The Pit.

In a game that matched two unbeaten clubs, what ultimately helped separate the Raiders from the Titans was a balanced scorebook. Guards Sage Stratton (19) and Ari Buehler (14) teamed with frontcourt standouts Pieper (14) and Jenna Durst (10) for all but three of the Raiders’ points.

“We’re still not close to where we feel we can be, but we kept our heads up and battled the whole game,” Pieper said.

Stratton scored 16 of her points in the first half, while Buehler, Pieper and Durst combined for 25 of their collective 38 in the third and fourth quarters.

“Our second-half balance was a big key, plus Sage’s big first half,” Notre Dame coach Eric Orne said. “Our guards really set the pace for our offense. We’re still a work in progress.”

Stratton has been in double figures in all six QND games. She’s averaging a team-best 15.2 points per game.

The victory boosted QND to 6-0. West Hancock is now 6-1.

In the past, West Hancock coach Jacey Hardweg felt the Titans had wilted under the pressure often supplied by Notre Dame, especially when playing at The Pit.

“We can always play better, but I felt we battled with QND all 32 minutes tonight,” she said. “I was very proud of our defense, and the way our offense handled their pressure. 

“It’s tough to play at The Pit. We’ll learn from this.”

An 8-0 run midway through the third quarter gave QND a 39-27 lead. The Raiders maintained a double-figure margin most of the second half until West Hancock scored 10 of the game’s final 13 points.

“Give West Hancock a lot of credit,” Orne said. “They’re a good team and did not back down from anything we did. Those were two good teams playing with a lot of confidence.”

Lillie Woodworth led West Hancock with 21 points, including four 3-point field goals. The senior guard scored 15 of her points after intermission. 

Woodworth has registered double figures in all seven West Hancock games, four times scoring 20-plus points. She’s averaging an even 20 points per game.

Alexis Lucie was West Hancock’s other double-figure scorer with 16.

The Titans’ Jadyn Climer, a 6-foot sophomore, headed all rebounders with 10. Durst had six for QND.