As the Quincy Notre Dame basketball team racked up all kinds of points during the late 2000s, it seems almost impossible to think that Leigh McLaughlin, the person who engineered that prolific attack, did it very quietly.
McLaughlin, a 2010 Quincy Notre Dame graduate, reached double figures in scoring just four times during her sophomore season on the basketball court, and she averaged less than five points a game. However, she helped the Raiders reach the Final Four in Class 3A and finish 32-2 in 2007-08. As a junior, she averaged seven points, seven assists and nearly three steals per game. She was a second-team all-area selection and a special mention all-stater by the IBCA as a junior.
As a senior, she averaged 7.1 points and 8 assists per game for the Raiders, who went 30-3 and finished second in Class 2A. She finished her career as the school’s all-time assist leader. Her ability to handle full-court pressure and unselfishness as a passer enabled other teammates to play bigger scoring roles.
She wasn’t nearly as quiet on the soccer field.
McLaughlin scored 29 goals and had 12 assists as a junior on the soccer field and became the sixth player in QND history to receive all-state honors from the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association. She was an all-state pick again as a senior, scoring 28 goals and assisting on 12 others for the Raiders, who finished with a 24-2 record and a state championship in 2010.
She was an honorable mention pick to the ESPNRISE.com spring girls soccer all-America team. She finished with 77 career goals and 30 career assists.
McLaughlin lives in St. Louis and is a project manager for Amazon. She has plans to marry her fiancé in May 2023.
"Thank you so much to the QND Athletic Hall of Fame Committee for this wonderful honor and recognition. I have fond memories from my high school years, and many of them include on-court and on-field moments. Athletics shaped me into who I am today. I'd like to thank Coach Longo, Coach Orne, Jay Zanger and all my friends and teammates. Without them, such success would not have been possible. I was truly privileged to have exceptional female athletes to look up to and play beside during my journey in athletics. To my family, thank you for your unwavering support and encouragement, both near and far. I will forever appreciate the sacrifices you made for me and for being my biggest fans."
—Leigh McLaughlin