‘We stand up and rise to the occasion’: Raiders fend off Rams to earn berth in Class 3A state semifinals

TAYLORVILLE, Ill. — Ari Buehler’s bright smile said it all.

“I guess it does,” she said.

The euphoric moment the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team experienced Monday night, beating Mt. Vernon 55-54 to win the Class 3A Taylorville Super-Sectional and earn a final four berth, had the Raiders smiling, giggling and even crying as they celebrated on Dolph Stanley Court.

“It feels great,” said Buehler, the junior point guard. “We went it with revenge on our minds in general and just focused on getting back there.”

That would be CEFCU Arena on the Illinois State University campus, where the Raiders won a Class 2A state championship in 2022 and finished third in Class 2A in 2023. QND (33-3) will face Lombard Montini (25-10) at 8:15 p.m. Thursday in the Class 3A state semifinals.

This will be the Raiders’ ninth state tournament appearance in Eric Orne’s 23 seasons as head coach. QND has won four state titles, one state runner-up, two third places and one fourth place in those previous eight trips to Bloomington-Normal.

But it was last year’s loss in the Class 3A sectional championship to Chatham Glenwood that gnawed at the Raiders for the last 374 days.

“It goes back to how hard we work in the gym every day,” junior forward Tristan Pieper said. “We put in the work so we wouldn’t experience that again.  When you work hard, it will pay off for you.”

It paid off with an effort that was gritty, tough and determined.

Neither QND nor Mt. Vernon ever led by more than five points at any point during the first three quarters, and the Raiders led 43-42 at the start of the fourth quarter. It stayed a one-possession game until Buehler hit a floater in the lane with 2:25 to play for a 47-44 advantage, and she hit two free throws with 1:28 to go to extend the lead to 49-44.

The Rams answered by scoring seven of the next nine points to tie the game on Kamaree Pollard’s two free throws with 21.1 seconds to go.

QND senior guard Sage Stratton and Pieper each hit two free throws in the final 16.7 seconds to push the lead to an insurmountable four points.

“There’s a term called edgers when it’s really gut check time,” Orne said. “In big-game moments like this, you have to come up with a different side of an edge. These girls found their edge and played with that edge.”

They stuck to a mantra they hold dear.

“We stand by one phrase, ‘Our huddle,’” Stratton said. “We stay together. When push comes to shove, we stand up and rise to the occasion.”

Lauren Hummell did, burying two 3-pointers to open the game. Sierra Thomas did, playing lockdown defense on Pollard in the fourth quarter and being a general pest defensively. Jenna Durst did, scoring 12 points and hitting a couple of clutch shots in the second half.

Pieper gave the Raiders a presence in the paint. Stratton provided leadership to go with 12 points. And Buehler controlled the pace and tempo and led the Raiders with 14 points.

“We can’t do it alone,” Pieper said. “We work together. We stay in our huddle. We keep together as a team every single day. We stay composed. We all work together to play hard.”

The end result is the chance to add to the trophy case, and none of the Raiders want to settle for playing in Friday’s third-place game.

“There’s no finish line,” Stratton said.