Turnover woes cost Blue Devils opportunity to upend Maroons in WB6 play

QUINCY — For a nine-minute stretch spanning the end of the second quarter and the start of the third quarter Thursday night, the Moline girls basketball team didn’t score.

Quincy High School didn’t chisel away at the deficit either.

The Blue Devils trailed 28-14 after the Maroons’ Caroline Hazen scored off a drive down the right side of the lane with 4:02 to play in the first half. Moline didn’t score again until the 2:45 mark of the third quarter, but it still had a double-digit lead at that point as turnovers limited the Blue Devils to four points in that stretch.

Overall, the Blue Devils committed 27 turnovers in suffering a 44-32 loss in Western Big 6 Conference play.

“We couldn’t get anything going offensively,” QHS coach Brad Dance said. “We didn’t hit the open person when they were open. We were hesitant. On inbounds plays from the sideline or under the basket or even on our press break, the girl is open and we were hesitant to get it to her. By then, she’s guarded.

“We have to get it to her when she’s open and then we can play. We can’t wait to make plays.”

Moline didn’t.

After the Blue Devils (5-3, 3-3 WB6) scored off the opening tip, the Maroons (7-3, 5-1 WB6) answered with an 8-0 run fueled by back-to-back baskets from Tahlea Terrill. The run turned into a 19-3 spurt during which the Blue Devils committed seven turnovers.

Sophomore forward Taylor Fohey, the Blue Devils’ leading scorer and rebounder, picked up three fouls in the first half and spent much of the half on the bench. Quincy struggled to score without her presence on the floor.

“It’s a learning experience for us,” Dance said.

Fohey finished with nine points and six rebounds, while Asia Seangmany added seven points. Terrill led the Maroons with 12 points, but Moline committed 17 turnovers and made just five field goals in the second half.

“I told them, ‘I love your effort. Your defensive effort was awesome,’” Dance said. “We just have to shore up some things offensively.”