Quaker Valley girls heat up in 2nd half of season to finish 2nd in section

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, February 16, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Quaker Valley finished as the runner-up in Section 1-3A in girls basketball with a 10-4 record.

As a result, the Quakers, seeded No. 7, drew No. 10 McGuffey on Feb. 14 in the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A tournament.

McGuffey finished third behind co-champions Keystone Oaks and Seton LaSalle in Section 3-3A and had a 13-8 overall record.

The Quakers ended up 14-8 by winning their final six games of the regular season against Gateway, Riverside, New Brighton, Lincoln Park, Mohawk and Ellwood City.

It was a vast improvement over last year’s 5-15 regular-season record.

“One of our goals coming into the season was to make the playoffs,” QV coach Ken Johns said. “Now that we’ve done that, it would be great to stick around for a little while. My expectations won’t change, though. I want us to continue to get better every day and strive to play our best when our best is needed. When you get in the playoffs, it’s difficult to know what to expect because you are playing teams you haven’t played before, especially in the early rounds and oftentimes there are not common opponents.

“We’ve been really focused on how we are playing and improving in areas we need to and figuring out ways to leverage the things we’re good at. To that end, it won’t change much about how we prepare and what we focus on.”

QV was victorious in 11 of 13 games since the calendar flipped to 2025.

“It has been fun to see how much progress we’ve made as a team,” Johns said. “When you look at how we started and compare it to how we’re playing now, we’ve really come together as a team.

“I expected it would take some time to play the way we are capable of playing. We’ve got a number of new players and a lot of players in new roles. Everyone on the team has stepped into their roles and done a really good job.”

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart won the Section 1-3A championship with a 14-0 record, followed by QV then Riverside and Beaver Falls, who tied for third place at 9-5. OLSH racked up a 19-3 overall record, Riverside matched QV’s 14-8 mark and Beaver Falls ended the regular season at 12-7.

One of the head scratchers for the QV team was a pair of losses to Beaver Falls: 47-43 in overtime at home and 56-48 on the road.

“It happens,” Johns said. “We had chances to win both of those games late and missed some shots. I think we learned from both of those games.”

QV was led again this season by 6-foot-5 junior G/F Mimi Thiero, who averaged 22.4 points, 17 rebounds, four blocks, four steals and three assists per game.

Thiero accounted for 493 points, 374 rebounds, 90 steals, 85 blocks and 71 assists. She shot 48% from the floor, 66% at the free-throw line and 32% from 3-point range.

Keira Watson, a 5-6 freshman guard, was the team leader in assists, averaging 4.3 per game to go along with 7 ppg. Watson shot 31% from beyond the arc and finished with 152 points.

Freshman Leasia Karto, a 5-10 forward, complemented Thiero on the boards as QV’s second-leading rebounder. She shot 35% from the floor.

Lucy Roig, a 5-5 junior guard, ranked second on the team in steals.

“It’s a great group of kids, all of them,” Johns said. “We have some players that have really played well down the stretch in ways that don’t always show up in the scorebook, and it’s fun to see them come together as a team.

“In our last five games, we’ve assisted on more than 70% of our made baskets. That’s a really good number for us, really for anyone. That has been great to see.”

The QV girls have advanced to the WPIAL playoffs for seven consecutive seasons.

Laurel Highlands handed the Quakers a 65-29 loss in last year’s WPIAL first round.

Tags: Quaker Valley