Quincy Herald-Whig | Illinois & Missouri News, SportsAfter slow start, QND girls back to Normal in 41-point dismantling of St. Thomas More

By BLAKE TOPPMEYER
Herald-Whig Staff Writer

DECATUR, Ill. – Jordan Frericks stole the ball in the paint and pushed it up the right side of the court with just Lexi Wallen between her and the basket.

Frericks made a quick crossover, glided past Wallen and layed a left-handed layup off the glass and in.

It was the signature move of the night for Frericks, a 6-foot-1 junior forward on the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team, but there were many others to choose from. She tallied 24 points, 11 rebounds, six steals and four blocks – all game highs – to lift QND to a 69-28 victory Monday against Champaign St. Thomas More in the Class 2A Decatur Super-sectional at Millikin University.

"Jordan was on fire," QND senior forward Tori Kuhn said. "When you have somebody who can knock down shots practically anytime you give them the ball, it's kind of special."

The Lady Raiders (31-1), ranked No. 1 in Class 2A and the defending 2A state champion, advance to play Aurora Central Catholic (25-6) at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Redbird Arena in Normal, Ill., in the state semifinals. Central Catholic advanced Friday by defeating Chicago Raby 58-29.

This will mark QND's third straight trip to Redbird Arena.

"I think everybody can take a deep breath now (that QND has punched its ticket to Redbird), but it's not over," Kuhn said. "We're not done. It's kind of like a sigh of relief that we're back, and we're ready to repeat."

QND defeated each of its first five postseason opponents by 37 points or more, and its postseason margin of victory is 51.6.

The Lady Raiders buried their first four postseason opponents early, outscoring those teams a combined 118-21 in the first quarter. St. Thomas More (27-6), making its first super-sectional appearance in program history, hung around longer.

Frericks, who made 11 of 18 field-goal attempts, scored twice in the paint to put QND ahead 4-0 a minute into the game, but Wallen drained a 3-pointer and a layup to give the Sabers a 5-4 lead with 5:40 remaining in the first quarter.

QND responded with an 11-0 run to take a 15-5 lead, but the Sabers countered and cut QND's lead to 15-12 with 1:15 left in the first quarter.

That's when the Lady Raiders took control.

Frericks made a free throw, and Shannon Foley followed with a 17-foot jump shot just before the end of the first quarter to put QND ahead 18-12. That was the start of a 16-0 QND run.

"We talked about being as close to perfect as possible, and we were that first eight or 10 minutes," STM coach Jason Schreder said. "And then they just made the plays."

No one made more than Frericks.

She scored 18 points in the first half and capped the second quarter by grabbing an offensive rebound and sinking a fadeaway 15-foot jumper from the left baseline to send QND into halftime ahead 41-18.

"Jordan Frericks made some unbelievable plays," QND coach Eric Orne said.

Frericks also received ample support.

Kassidy Gengenbacher was 3 of 6 from 3-point range and finished with 16 points and six rebounds. Kuhn added eight points and a team-high six assists. Kristen Gengenbacher chipped in seven points, five rebounds and five steals. Foley tallied six points and had the primary defensive assignment on Sabers point guard Randa Harshbarger, who came in averaging 10.4 points per game but scored two points Monday on 1-of-5 shooting.

"I think tonight shows (defenses) have to guard all five," Orne said. "We've always stressed we need five scorers on the floor at one time."

Wallen led STM with 12 points and was their only player to score more than five points.

The Sabers made 5 of 10 attempts from the floor in the first quarter but went 1 of 6 in the second quarter – during which they also turned the ball over 10 times – and shot 29.4 percent overall.

"At times, it can get frustrating because we've been dominating the first quarter, but I think we just really needed to get our composure and go back to the basics and what we're best at doing, which is defense," Kassidy Gengenbacher said.

– btoppmeyer@whig.com/221-3367