Goss: JCA graduate and Sky standout Allie Quigley gives young campers a day to remember

When Allie Quigley walked out of the Joliet Catholic Academy Student Activity Center early Monday afternoon, she might have been suffering from writer’s cramp.

She had just signed everything for everybody, not to mention posing for scores of photos with the young girls who attended the Allie Quigley Angels & Saints Basketball Camp, and with many of their siblings and parents.

The Chicago Sky guard and JCA graduate, the reigning Sixth Woman of the Year in the WNBA, is a local celebrity. You never would know it, however, by watching her interact at the camp, or from talking with her.

“I used to go to camps all the time when I was a young girl,” said Quigley, who at 29 is in her third season with the Sky and soon will add to her European career, which has spanned eight seasons. “I just wanted to come here and do something for these girls. It’s awesome to be here. I saw some good talent here. There are some future great players.”

The Labor Day camp was a cooperative effort between JCA girls coach Kenny Battle and his staff and University of St. Francis women’s coach Sam Quigley, Allie’s sister, and her staff. All the campers – numbering between 65 and 70 after a large walk-up – received a Sky basketball, a bag and a T-shirt.

“The main thing I told these girls is never give up,” Allie Quigley said. “I was in their shoes and heard all the critics. I was too small. I can’t play at the next level. I know about being cut from a team. My advice to them was to ignore the critics and stick with it.”

That’s what Quigley did during her career with St. Patrick Grade School, JCA, DePaul University and throughout her pro career. When she was the star, she continued to work. When she was hanging on in the professional ranks, she kept at it, kept giving her all, until opportunity knocked.

When it came, she was ready.

Quigley’s first season with the Sky was 2013. She played in all 34 games and averaged 3.8 points. That wasn’t good enough for her.

In 2014, she took advantage of the chance to log more minutes, and her WNBA career zoomed. She began playing some point guard in addition to shooting guard and averaged 11.2 points and 2.2 rebounds. She was named the WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year.

The 2015 Sky, which has clinched a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference, is 20-12 with two regular-season games remaining. Quigley has played in the 30 games that took place while she was in the country. She also has Hungarian citizenship and played for the Hungarian National team in an international competition that coincided with the early portion of the WNBA schedule.

She concedes the early portion of this season was “a little up and down,” but lately, with the Sky winning five of the last six, “it’s been mostly up.” She is averaging 11.0 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.4 steals and 0.6 blocks while shooting .437 from the field, .340 (32 of 94) from 3-point range and .833 (35 of 42) from the free-throw line.

“I’ve pretty much been playing off the bench,” Quigley said. “If that helps make us better, that’s what I want.”

A repeat as Sixth Woman of the Year?

“I try not to think about the award,” Quigley said. “If it happens again, great. Individual awards usually come from the team having success, and that’s what matters most.”

The Sky has been hot and should hit the playoffs on a high note. Last season, Quigley helped her team reach the WNBA Finals, where the Sky fell to the Phoenix Mercury.

“We feel like this is the year we are going to win it all,” Quigley said. “That’s our total focus. We wanted to be playing well at the end. We couldn’t get the first seed (in the Eastern Conference), which we wanted, but we are excited about where we are.”

Although individual glory is not her thing, Quigley has enjoyed signature moments. On July 10 at Minnesota, she scored on an alley-oop from Jamierra Faulkner at the third-quarter buzzer, which was No. 9 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 that night. On Aug. 21 against visiting Washington, she nailed a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to give the Sky an 87-85 win.

“That was my first one,” Quigley said of her game-winner. “I hope it’s the first of many. It was exciting.”

If she remains healthy, Quigley said she can see playing “three to five more years.” Shortly after the WNBA playoffs conclude, she will return to Europe, where she will play in Istanbul, Turkey.

“I haven’t played in Turkey since my first year, which was eight years ago,” she said. “It’s a pretty big club they have there. The team will play in the Turkish League and the Euroleague. The league there is really picking up. It’s a good league to be in.”

Before exiting the JCA basketball floor, Quigley glanced at the banners for the 2014 and 2015 Hall of Champions classes. She was a member of the inaugural 2014 class. She noted the 2015 class, which was inducted Saturday night, and said, “It’s great to be part of this, to think how much greatness came out of this school.”

Terry Gannon, a member of the Class of 2015, said in his acceptance: “I doubt you can go anywhere in the country and find 10 names to match what you have from this school.”

Allie Quigley belongs with that greatness. Just ask the young campers.

• Dick Goss can be reached at dgoss@shawmedia.com.