Lady Jacks take down Chelan for the first time since 1996

QUINCY — It’s been a long time – 26 years, to be exact – since the Quincy girls basketball team defeated Chelan, which they did on Tuesday night in a 48-44 overtime victory over the Mountain Goats.

Senior Ruth Flores led the Jacks in scoring with 17 points, followed by senior Joceline Schaapman with 12 and freshman Chloe Medina with 11.

“It’s always been close, but we’ve definitely haven’t had a lead on them,” Quincy Head Coach Micaiah McCreary said. “I think the closest we’ve stayed is 6-8 points, but other than that we’ve lost by about 16 or so. This was a much better outcome than before, obviously.”

Chelan jumped out to a 4-0 lead early on, but a three-pointer by senior Flores cut into the lead, with Quincy and Chelan battling back and forth from then on.

“That was the only time, I think, that Chelan had led until they got up by two in the fourth quarter,” McCreary said.

Creating a fast-paced game allowed Quincy to capitalize on Chelan's turnovers, with the Jacks forcing the Mountain Goats to turn the ball over 19 times.

“The pace of the game, we just kept pushing the ball. (With) our defense and our press, we really try and speed up the other team and make them push the ball, create their own turnovers.”

For the current group of Quincy players on the court, this was their first time playing in an overtime game.

“Really, this was our first overtime experience,” McCreary said. “We’ve definitely been pushing conditioning in practices, and the style of play that we do is just a way higher-tempo, faster game. I think the girls were prepped that way to go into overtime and handle that.”

The Jacks were able to overcome a handful of turnovers throughout the game, which McCreary credited to the team’s level of control on the floor.

“I was impressed with their maturity level,” McCreary said. “We had two freshmen out on the court pretty much the whole time, and the team itself, they just stayed pretty even-keeled. Nobody got too high or too low.”

McCreary said that the Quincy offense has opened up more than it has in years past with the inclusion of seniors Flores and Schaapman and freshmen Medina and Emily Camacho, who all possess the ability to make plays with the ball in their hands.

“It’s a night-and-day difference than what it’s been in the past,” McCreary said. “We have so much more freedom offensively to let them go out there and play, create plays on their own rather than set multiple plays.”

Up next for the 3-0 Jacks is a home game against Omak on Friday. Tip-off is at 5:45 p.m.

“Having this win against Chelan is huge, and we’re going to face some tougher competition coming up, but the girls should feel really confident,” McCreary said.

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.