The success of the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball program over a five-season stretch is nearly unmatched, especially when you consider it involved moving up in classification for the final two seasons in that span.
From 2009 to 2014, the Raiders won five state trophies, captured three consecutive state championships and compiled a 154-9 record. It marks the most consecutive seasons winning a state trophy of any sport in school history.
The run began with the 2009-10 season in which QND went 30-3 and finished as the state runner-up in Class 2A. The Raiders’ run included a 46-26 victory over West Hancock in the sectional finals and 50-24 victory over Byron in the super-sectional. They scored the final five points of the third quarter to take the lead for good in a 39-33 victory over Nashville in the state semifinals, before losing 64-58 to Bloomington Central Catholic in the title game.
They wouldn’t suffer a season-ending loss for the next four seasons.
QND went 31-1 during the 2010-11 season and enacted some revenge in the state championship game. The Raiders beat Nashville 34-25 in the semifinals, and in the championship game, QND ended Bloomington Central Catholic’s reign with a 75-64 victory for the program’s first state title in 28 years.
During the 2011-12 postseason, the Raiders steamrolled their opponents, beating Williamsville 90-28 in the sectional championship and Champaign St. Thomas More 69-28 in the super-sectional. At Redbird Arena, QND beat Aurora Central Catholic 74-36 in the semifinals. In the championship game, the Raiders rolled past Breese Central 62-31.
QND allowed only one opponent to score more than 36 points over the final 14 games of the season.
Bumped to Class 3A for the 2012-13 season due to the IHSA success factor, the Raiders didn’t blink an eye. They simply rolled to a 30-0 record and another state championship, marking the second undefeated state championship in program history. The 1983 team went 30-0 in winning the Class A state title.
The bump up in classification didn’t diminish QND’s dominance as the Raiders won their first five postseason games by an average of 27.6 points. At the state tournament, the Raiders beat Morton 67-51 in the semifinals and capped the three-peat with a 62-45 victory over Vernon Hills.
The hopes of a four-peat were realistic after the Raiders allowed three consecutive opponents to score no more than 31 points in the 2013-14 postseason, including beating Bethalto Civic Memorial 42-27 in the super-sectional. At Redbird Arena, the Raiders suffered a 70-59 loss to Joliet Catholic in the semifinals before capping the season with a 64-40 victory over Burlington Central in the third-place game.
Five seasons, five 30-win campaigns, five state trophies.
That’s unparalleled success.
A Note of Thanks
On behalf of the Lady Raider basketball program, we would like to the QND Hall of Fame committee for honoring a remarkable time in our basketball program. Our basketball seasons from 2010 thru 2014 became legendary by the accomplishments those teams made during that run. Three state championships and five total state trophies along with countless big game victories in “The Pit” will go down as one of the greatest eras in state history for girls’ basketball.
- Coach Orne