HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL: Gormley, Quinn spark North Quincy to doubleheader sweep vs. Quincy

QUINCY – If you were wondering what all the fuss was about with Orlagh Gormley and Daithi Quinn, Friday night did a good job of explaining it.

The two North Quincy High sophomore basketball standouts, profiled in The Patriot Ledger and The Enterprise earlier in the week, were at it again in their own gym, leading their respective teams to a doubleheader sweep of city rival Quincy High.

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In the early game, Gormley shook off some early shooting woes – and a bad leg cramp in the third quarter – to pour in 27 points (56 percent of the Raiders' total) in a 48-30 win that kept the NQ girls undefeated at 9-0.

Gormley hit seven baskets and scored 15 points in the second half as the Raiders pulled away after leading 22-14 at intermission. She was particularly brilliant in the fourth quarter with a pair of acrobatic drives to the hoop that each started with her dribbling out of double-team pressure in the backcourt.

"Per usual," NQ first-year coach Matt Ramponi said with a laugh. "And then it's her defense – her anticipation is second to none. As a leader, you don't find kids like her who are just humble and always congratulates her teammates. She's a joy to be around. I'm very lucky to be in this position."

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In the nightcap, Quinn scored a game-high 17 points in just three quarters as the NQ boys rolled to a 66-33 victory. Quinn brought the crowd – at least the portion clad in red – to its feet with a pair of breakaway dunks in the first half as the Raiders (6-3) took a 42-17 lead into the break.

"Big momentum swings," Quinn said. "Two steals and then two dunks."

The 6-foot-3 forward said he's up to four dunks on the season. "First game (of the year against Silver Lake) I had one," he said. "Tuesday, against Hanover, I had one and then these two."

"I loved his emotion that he played with throughout the game," NQ coach Kevin Barrett said. "He was really energized and motivated. I thought that was kind of contagious among our group."

After last year's pandemic restrictions on fans, the gym was packed and loud on Friday night for the first city showdown of the season. Quincy will host the rematch (also a girls/boys doubleheader) on Feb. 18.

"I just love all the fans," Quinn said. "It gets everyone happy and excited."

"That itself is a win," Quincy coach Dave Parry, whose team is 0-10, said of the atmosphere. "I told the kids last night – this will be the biggest crowd they've played in front of. Most of these kids (weren't on varsity two years ago, the last time fans could attend). We almost won on this court last year and no one was around to see it. Obviously, this year is a lot different. Just being on the court with the fans is a big plus for the kids. It really mentally lifted them up; they enjoyed seeing it."

Here's a closer look at each game:

NQ girls keep rolling

Quincy came out in a 1-2-2 zone (with Lena Waldron at the top) that seemed to blunt NQ's offense at first.

"It was (causing problems)," Gormley said. "We just had to keep moving the ball. They were doing a good job. They had a good game plan for us. But we fought back in the second half."

Quincy coach Sarah Conlon said the Presidents (5-7) have used a 1-2-2 look at times this season but not for an entire game as they did in this one.

"We did that in part to try to slow the pace of the game down a little, make it a little more half court because they're very talented in transition," Conlon said of the Raiders. "I think (it worked) until the end, where we had to extend our pressure. They made some great plays toward the end. Orlagh had some good and-ones. That kind of opened it up. It felt like it was tighter (than the final score) for a lot of the game."

Ramponi said he thought the big crowd played a part in the slow start – NQ led 9-6 after one quarter.

"It's a big atmosphere," he said. "A lot of the kids who get playing time for us are sophomores; last year with COVID there were no fans, so this was the first time they ever had a real big crowd. I think that played a role in our sluggish start. You look at the shot chart and we had a lot of open shots; we just missed them. But we played through it. I'm proud of the kids."

All five of NQ's scorers were sophomores – along with Gormley's explosion, Ava Bryan had 7 points, Jillian Jaehnig added 6, and Autumn O'Campus and Molly Toland chipped in with 4 each.

Junior Caroline Tracey led Quincy with 12 points. Waldron, a junior, added 7, and senior Antenella Ibrahim chipped in with 5.

Quincy played without freshman forward Alyssa Hopps, who already has two last-second, game-winning 3-pointers this season, and sophomore guard Mary Saccoach, but Conlon said she hopes to have both players back for Tuesday's trip to Whitman-Hanson (11-0).

"I can't wait to have a full squad back," she said. "We haven't had a full squad in about four weeks, five weeks. We should be back to full force soon. That's really exciting. These kids are great; they're playing their butts off."

Meanwhile, NQ will try to keep its perfect record intact when it visits Hingham on Tuesday.

"It's a credit to the kids," Ramponi said of the 9-0 start. "We have a lot of work to do, but they have a lot to be proud of. For such a young group, we're moving in the right direction."

Balance key for NQ boys

NQ senior point guard Nikko Mortel came out firing, scoring 10 points in the first 3:30. He didn't hit another basket and finished with 12 points, but it hardly mattered as the Raiders got contributions up and down the roster.

"We were preaching that from the get-go," Barrett said. "We were looking for a 32-minute effort and I thought we pretty much got that, which was nice to see. We went pretty deep into the lineup and got an extraordinary effort from a lot of kids."

Eleven different players scored for North Quincy, including senior Danny Bellotti and junior Nate Davis, who each picked up their first varsity points. Freshman Kobe Nguyen, senior Ethan Gao, junior Dylan Clifford and senior Qunonuw Scott each had 6 points.

"Our depth has been really solid," Barrett said. "It's nice to be able to put four (new) guys in (the game at once) and oftentimes we get a lift or (at least) we certainly won't have a setback when those guys come off the bench."

Even though Mortel couldn't sustain his early pace, seeing him knock down a pair of 3-pointers put a smile on Barrett's face.

"If Nikko can start shooting that 20-footer consistently he's going to be tough to guard because he's got that quick first step, he's crafty when he gets into the lane and starts going toward the rim," the coach noted. "I hope that's a sign of things to come."

Jordan Davis paced Quincy with 9 points. Joe Manton added 7, and Jacey Ham chipped in with 4. The Presidents are averaging just 38.1 points per game.

"We've been offensively challenged," Parry said. "It's very hard to win a varsity high school basketball game when you can't put 50 points on the board."

Despite the winless start, Parry said he likes his team's attitude.

"First and foremost, they're a great group of kids," he said. "They come to practice every day eager to learn, eager to work hard. They also realize that they're not quite as fundamentally talented as we would like them to be, but they make up for it with their heart and their energy and their athleticism. We try to build on that. We try to make teams work for every point. Our league is just outstanding this year, and it's been hard (to navigate the schedule)."

As for NQ, Barrett points out that a two-week COVID pause that ended on Jan. 11 has left the Raiders back at "square one."

"I think our best basketball is yet to be seen," he said, "and I'm excited to see what that's going to look like in the coming weeks."

***

The Quincy High girls will host a "Bigger Than Basketball" fundraiser on Saturday, Jan. 29, featuring games at 5 p.m. (Pembroke vs. Fontbonne Academy) and 6:30 p.m. (Quincy vs. Abington). Proceeds will benefit the family of Priscilla Bonica, last season's senior captain who is battling brain cancer. Donations (cash only) will be accepted at the door. There will be concession stands and a rubber ducky toss ($5 entry, $100 prize). Donations also can be made at sconlonqhs@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: North Quincy stars shine in basketball doubleheader sweep of Quincy