Top-ranked Raiders gear up for challenging weekend by controlling victory over Rockets

QUINCY — A basic geometric principle applies to basketball as well.

The quickest way from Point A to Point B is a straight line.

“We’re trying to keep a straight line every game,” Quincy Notre Dame junior guard Ari Buehler said.

That means snaring the lead, applying pressure, building an advantage and emptying the bench before all is said and done, just the way the QND girls basketball team did Thursday night in its 66-31 victory over Rochester at The Pit.

“We were working hard the whole game, getting good stops and really getting after it defensively,” Buehler said. “Our defense is our offense. If we’re playing hard on defense, we’re going to get a good offensive look.”

The Raiders, ranked No. 1 in the latest Associated Press Class 3A state poll, limited the Rockets to one field goal in the second quarter and went into halftime with a 36-12 advantage. The lead reached 30 points by the start of the fourth quarter, invoking a running clock.

“What I liked about tonight — I told them this in the locker room — is we controlled the game,” QND coach Eric Orne said.

Defensive intensity determined it all.

“It’s about (assistant coach) Matt Pugh getting us all riled up and ready,” senior guard Sage Stratton said. “We have to give some credit to him for putting the strategies into our game. He does great things for us.

“And when we get those steals like we did tonight, you’re hungry for another one. You want to keep going. You want to get those fast breaks. You want to keep going, going, going.”

The Raiders (18-1) didn’t throttle back until the fourth quarter, saving some energy and some legs for a tough weekend slate. QND will face state-ranked South Shelby on Friday night at The Pit and then travel to the Harrisburg (Mo.) Shootout on Saturday to face state-ranked Centralia.

By weekend’s end, the Raiders will have played five state-ranked teams in the first six games of 2025.

“We have to be mentally tough,” said Buehler, who was one of five Raiders in double figures Thursday night with 10 points. “It’s a big thing that has gone through our team a lot. I think we’re all really getting good at it, staying together as a team and making sure that we pick each other up.”

The South Shelby matchup is the first and only ranked battle in this stretch QND will have played at home.

“The Pit is a special place to play in,” said Stratton, who finished with 20 points and broke the program record for career 3-pointers made in the first quarter. “It’s nice to have teams come in here and play in the comfort of your home.”

Even so, Orne knows what facing South Shelby means.

“I know the last few years that battle with South Shelby has been a war,” he said. “We have to flip the page and make sure we’re mentally prepared for this battle.”

Nothing should impact that — neither the 30-point victory nor the jump to No. 1 in the state rankings.

“We’re still focused on winning the game,” Buehler said. “A ranking is just a ranking. It’s not going to determine how we play every game. We determine that.”