Chloe Medina tossed her first shot up Saturday against Liberty Bell, a three-pointer that rattled in, and started a Lady Jacks scoring blizzard that won the game and ended a string of losses by the Lady Jacks basketball team.
Quincy had lost eight games in a row, including two last week – one to Chelan and one to Omak.
Head coach Micaiah McCreary called the 55-26 win Saturday a “good confidence builder” and “a great team win.”
Medina sunk her first four shots, three of which were three-pointers, scoring 11 in the opening minutes against Liberty Bell. She would finish with 26 points in the game.
Quincy led 23-4 at the end of the first quarter and held the visitors scoreless in the second quarter. At halftime, the Lady Jacks were far out front, 40-4.
Ruth Flores scored 11; Emily Camacho scored 8; Stephanie Sanchez put in 6 points; and Joceline Schaapman had 4. Sanchez also grabbed 10 rebounds, and Schaapman nabbed 6.
“We were definitely hitting our shots,” McCreary said. “We just came out really strong and we knew we wanted to push the ball and create opportunities with our press.”
The team’s trapping press helped produce turnovers and get 20 steals.
McCreary said the team has practiced the pressure defense.
“Really focusing on our rotations and getting better at anticipating passes,” she said.
The week started out with a tougher game, a 55-39 loss to Chelan. The previous time these two in-league rivals met, the Lady Jacks dealt the Goats a loss on their home court. This time, the Goats won on Quincy’s court.
The defenses of both teams were aggressive in the first quarter, with scrappy play on both sides. Chelan was up 11-8 at the end of the first quarter and widened its lead in the second to 27-19.
“It was a game of runs,” McCreary said, with each team getting hot on offense in streaks.
During the third quarter, Quincy clawed back to within 3, she said, a testament to the Lady Jacks’ hustle.
“I thought we pushed the ball really well,” McCreary said. “The energy was there, everybody played their hardest.”
She said her players executed the game plan to attack and get to the free throw line often, but rebounding and handling the opponent’s press were challenges.
The top scorers for Quincy were Medina with 18 points, Flores with 9 and Camacho with 11.
On Friday, the Lady Jacks were in Omak and lost a lopsided game, 66-18.
The team’s statistics show Medina scored 2, Libny Roque put in 4 points, Schaapman scored 2, Camacho scored 3, Brianna Herrera hit one bucket for 2, and Flores scored 5.
The Lady Jacks hoopsters entered this week with a 4-8 overall season record and 1-4 league record. They will have two games this week, both at home. First, the Cashmere Bulldogs visit on Wednesday, with the tipoff at 5:45 p.m. The Royal Knights come to town for a non-league matchup Saturday starting at 3:30 p.m.
The fans’ clothing theme for the Cashmere game will be “pink out” – wear pink clothing. For the game versus Royal, the clothing theme is “jersey night” – wear any jersey of any team or sport.