Schreacke’s clutch shot gives No. 2 QND edge in showdown with No. 3 Illini West

CARTHAGE, Ill. — The difference between the two best Class 2A girls basketball teams in the west-central part of the state is subtle, yet simple.

One has Abbey Schreacke.

The other does not.

With the outcome of Thursday night’s battle of state-ranked teams, Quincy Notre Dame was going to win, lose or draw with the ball in Schreacke’s hands. Illini West’s challenge was to not let her make it.

Tied at 38 with less than 30 seconds to play, the Raiders worked the ball to Schreacke, the 6-foot junior guard who was posting up on the left block. Schreacke turned, elevated and buried the game-winning jumper with 6.2 seconds remaining, lifting the second-ranked Raiders to a 40-38 victory over the third-ranked Chargers.

“I knew my teammates were going to get me the ball,” Schreacke said. “We all knew it had to go in my hands, so I knew I could trust them. We were trying to get that last possession, and I knew with that shot everything counted. So I kind of had to put it in there.”

Her reaction — a fist pump and a scream — reiterated how important the shot and the victory were.

“I was really happy that it went in,” said Schreacke, who finished with a game-high 23 points. “So you have to celebrate.”

Then she and the Raiders (17-1) had to play defense in an eventful final 4.3 seconds.

First, the Chargers (23-2) turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds play when QND freshman guard Sage Stratton tied up Illini West senior guard Caydee Kirkham and forced a jump ball. Possession went back to the Raiders, but they squandered it coming out of a timeout as a five-second call on the inbounds play gave the ball back to the Chargers.

Illini West moved the ball into the front court but had it knocked out of bounds just before the clock ran out. The game officials converged and added two-tenths of a second back on the clock, giving the Chargers one final play.

The inbounds pass went to Marie DeSotel, but her shot from the left baseline rimmed long.

“It’s going to hurt,” said Illini West coach Grant Surprenant, whose team had a 22-game winning streak snapped. “I could tell in the locker room it’s going to bother them. But you need to play games like this and see what you’re made of. I felt like we didn’t quit.

“We had some shots that just didn’t fall. We had some defensive breakdowns. But we still had a good shot to tie it late in the game. So you could see afterward they were upset, but if I know our team, this could give us confidence and we can learn from it moving forward.”

There’s always something to be gained when you play in a slobberknocker.

The physical play that highlighted two dynamic defensive efforts made it such.

“I saw some toughness out of our kids,” QND coach Eric Orne said. “We got knocked around in the first half. We were back on our heels. We felt a little bit sorry for ourselves and our shoulders were down. But they challenged themselves to come out and get something going.”

Illini West led 22-13 at halftime as it clogged up and slowed down QND’s attack. It didn’t hurt for the Chargers to make some shots, too.

They went 10 of 23 from the field in the first half with Abbie Johnson scoring eight of her 10 points. Illini West scored on two of its final four possessions of the half — a Madi Cole 3-pointer and a Rylee Reed 15-footer were the field goals — to turn a four-point edge into a nine-point lead.

Meanwhile, the Raiders failed to score on their final six possessions and went 2 of 19 from the field in the first half, scoring eight of their 13 points at the free-throw line. Schreacke had seven points, but was just 1 of 8 from the field.

“Abbey made a tough shot at the end,” Surprenant said. “But it felt like every shot she made tonight was contested and was a tough shot. She had to earn all of her points.”

She did when it mattered most in the second half.

A spirited halftime conversation about toughness invigorated the Raiders, and junior guard Lia Quintero’s 3-pointer from the top of the key on the initial possession of the third quarter seemed to loosen things up.

She hit another 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter, giving QND its first lead since the game’s opening minute at 29-28.

“I wasn’t really thinking about things when it happened,” Quintero said. “I just kind of shot and it went in. That gave me a lot of confidence going into the second shot as well. I’m glad I was able to help my team by hitting shots.”

Schreacke scored the final eight points of the third quarter as QND went on a 10-0 run. She added four points as the Raiders scored on five consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter to go ahead 36-32 with 3:49 to play. 

But Caydee Kirkham’s shot off the glass and Reed’s two free throws tied the game at 36 with 2:42 to go. Illini West took the lead with 1:50 to play on Reed’s 15-foot jumper, only to have Schreacke hit a turnaround jumper to tie the game with 1:35 to go.

It set up a frantic finish defined by one clutch shot.

“We rely on (Schreacke) a lot,” Quintero said. “She’s a great player, and definitely one we can give the ball to and trust with it. I’m glad she was able to really help us out.”

She hit the biggest shot of the season so far.

“Honestly, it was a game-changer,” Quintero said.