‘Let’s just bury them’: Third-quarter blitz carries Raiders to lopsided victory over Cardinals

Quincy Notre Dame guard Ari Buehler, left, runs the offense while being pressured by Pleasant Plains' Bailey Leach during Tuesday night's game at The Pit. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — The Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball players decided they had allowed Pleasant Plains to hang around long enough. So when they went to the locker room at halftime Tuesday night with an eight-point lead, there wasn’t much need for a discussion on how to approach the second half. The plan was quite simple:…

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Blistering start enables QND girls basketball team to roll past Carrollton, remain undefeated

Quincy Notre Dame's Sage Stratton, right, defends Carrollton's Harper Darr during Saturday's QND/Gully Transportation Tip-Off Tournament game at The Pit. | Addi Zanger photo

QUINCY — Eric Orne could see it in his players’ eyes and attitude during Saturday morning’s shootaround. The “rough game” he referred to Friday wasn’t going to repeat itself 24 hours later. “They knew (Friday) night wasn’t what we wanted to represent,” Orne said.  However, few could have anticipated what transpired in the early stages…

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Shifting gears: Raiders ratchet up intensity in second half to put away Warriors in home debut

Quincy Notre Dame guard Ari Buehler sets up the offense during Friday night's game against Calhoun in the QND/Gully Transportation Tip-Off Tournament at The Pit. | Shane Hulsey photo

QUINCY — The Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team’s energy was far from coach Eric Orne’s liking in the first 16 minutes of the Raiders’ home opener against Hardin Calhoun on Friday. “We weren’t playing Lady Raider basketball in the first half, just sluggish, a lot of standing around,” Orne said. “I thought with our…

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Countdown to tipoff: Raiders finding competitive edge to carry them through Class 3A postseason

Quincy Notre Dame junior point guard Ari Buehler, left, and veteran coach Eric Orne hope to lead the Raiders on a deep postseason run in Class 3A this season. | Shane Hulsey photo

Coverage of the QND girls basketball team is brought to you by: QUINCY — The smallest spark can light a fire inside Sage Stratton. “It’s easy to make me mad and make me not really like you,” Stratton said. “I try to find something not to like and that motivates me.” It’s not necessarily a…

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From one winning program to another: QND’s Stratton commits to play basketball at Drury

Quincy Notre Dame senior Sage Stratton recently committed to play basketball at Drury University, the Great Lakes Valley Conference's best program over the past decade. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Jackson Stratton did exactly what a big brother is expected to do. He looked out for his little sister. As Sage Stratton navigated the recruiting circuit throughout the past year — the Quincy Notre Dame senior received interest from a variety of NCAA Division II women’s basketball programs — she leaned heavily on…

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‘The time will come when we get one’: Effort reaching postseason caliber level for Raiders

Quincy Notre Dame sophomore forward Addie Flesch, right, celebrates her goal with teammate Sage Stratton, left, during Friday night's game against Quincy High School at Flinn Stadium. | Matt Schuckman

QUINCY — The frustration showed in their eyes, never in their effort. The Quincy Notre Dame girls soccer players refused to give up their pursuit of a game-tying goal over the final 40 minutes of Friday night’s crosstown showdown with Quincy High School even when the equalizer never came. “All the girls worked their butts…

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New coach, same expectations as QND girls soccer team sets sights on return to state tourney

Quincy Notre Dame girls soccer coach Mark Thomas, right, demonstrates the proper technique during a drill in a preseason practice at Advance Physical Therapy Field. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Aubrey Sparrow wasn’t naive enough to think the tempo and tenor of Mark Thomas-led practices would be similar to those run by former Quincy Notre Dame girls soccer Mark Longo. “I knew the style would change, just how it does with every coach,” the senior defender said. But she remained confident the Raiders…

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Stratton reaches 1,000 career points as Notre Dame girls rebound after rare loss

Pittsfield's Sophie Gengler drives to the basket while Quincy Notre Dame's Sage Stratton defends during Wednesday night's girls basketball game at the Pit in Quincy. | David Adam

QUINCY — When Sage Stratton dropped through a second-quarter field goal Wednesday night, the game came to an immediate halt. Public address announcer Frank Cash then informed the crowd at The Pit that Stratton, a junior guard for the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team, had become the 17th player in the long and storied…

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Shutting out Chargers in second quarter propels state-ranked Raiders to victory

Quincy Notre Dame guard Sage Stratton scored 16 points in Thursday night's victory over Illini West in Carthage, Ill. | Muddy River Sports file photo

CARTHAGE, Ill. — A slow start didn’t translate to a sluggish finish for the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team. Defense turned everything around. Trailing Illini West 9-7 at the end of the first quarter Thursday night, the state-ranked Raiders shut out the Chargers in the second quarter, then scored 23 points in the third…

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‘We put defense first’: Raiders put clamps on Pirates’ attack to run away with Rumble victory

Quincy Notre Dame's Marie Eversman, right, pressures Hannibal's Malia Stolte during the first half of Friday night's game in the Rumble on the River at John Wood Community College's Student Activity Center. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Sage Stratton’s assessment of the nearly 12-minute stretch in which the Hannibal girls basketball team went without a field goal Friday night should attract as much attention as the effort itself. “We put defense first and we work hard on defense,” the Quincy Notre Dame junior guard said. “It doesn’t matter what court…

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In-your-face defense never goes out of style for QND girls basketball team

Quincy Notre Dame’s Jenna Durst, background left, and Marie Eversman force a jump ball with Belleville Althoff’s Emilee Travnicek during Friday night’s girls basketball game in the Gully Transportation Shootout in The Pit. | David Adam photo

QUINCY — The players may graduate, but the in-your-face style the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball program plays year-to-year doesn’t seem to go anywhere. The Raiders’ suffocating defense once again was on display in their 52-27 win over Belleville Althoff in Friday’s start to the two-night Gully Transportation Shootout at The Pit. QND (3-0) forced…

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Final home stretch showing Raiders have heart to be contender in Class 1A postseason

Quincy Notre Dame forward Makayla Patton, center, gets her head on a ball crossed into the box during Wednesday's game against Jacksonville at Advance Physical Therapy Field. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — If home is indeed where the heart is, the Quincy Notre Dame girls soccer team is using its longest stretch of home games to find out how much heart it truly has. Wednesday’s effort gave the Raiders hope they have the heart of a champion. Three second-half goals led to a 4-0 victory…

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Stratton ties assist record with four in first half as Raiders roll to victory over Grayhounds

Quincy Notre Dame midfielder Sage Stratton tied a program record with four assists in the first half of Saturday's 7-1 victory at Burlington, Iowa. | Photo courtesy Mathew Kirby

BURLINGTON, Iowa — Sage Stratton’s remarkable start to her prep career — three seasons, three state trophies — now includes a prestigious individual honor. The sophomore tied a Quincy Notre Dame girls soccer program single-half record. Saturday, during an 7-1 victory over Burlington, Stratton assisted on four first-half goals, while scoring one herself. The midfielder…

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QND girls developing depth during December’s endless run of games

Quincy Notre Dame guard Sage Stratton, left, drives to the basket during the second half of Saturday's game against Moberly in the Rumble on the River at John Wood Commnunity College's Student Activity Center. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — No rest for the weary. At least not for a few more days. The December schedule that has the top-ranked Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team playing 13 games in 21 days is nearing its end. Two games in a three-day span will wrap it up before the Raiders go 17 days until…

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Inspired by pregame chat, Stratton carries scoring load for top-ranked Raiders in victory over Cardinals

Quincy Notre Dame sophomore guard Sage Stratton scored 23 points to power the Raiders past Pleasant Plains on Tuesday night at The Pit. | Muddy River Sports file photo

QUINCY — When you face the No. 1-ranked girls basketball team in Class 2A with the reigning state player of the year, the goal becomes quite obvious. Slow down Abbey Schreacke. Many try. Most fail. Tuesday night, Pleasant Plains succeeded in limiting Schreacke, Quincy Notre Dame’s all-state senior forward, to a season-low 13 points in…

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Orne wants Schreacke to carry less of load, hopes Raiders will be more balanced

Quincy Notre Dame's Abbey Schreacke handles the ball during a game against Quincy High School last season. Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — When Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball coach Eric Orne says he hopes junior Abbey Schreacke averages fewer points per game this season, he isn’t crazy. Schreacke, who averaged 25.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 3.5 steals and 3.4 blocks per game during a shortened sophomore season, has been contacted by and/or offered a…

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