Quaker Valley grad Nora Johns enjoying college basketball experience at Ohio Wesleyan

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, January 5, 2025 | 11:01 AM

The Ohio Wesleyan women’s basketball program — as would be expected — is dominated by players from Ohio.

The 2024-25 team roster consists of 22 players — 18 Ohioans, two from California, one Illinois player and just one from the bordering state of Pennsylvania.

More to the point, Nora Johns, a 5-foot-9 sophomore guard, hails from the Leetsdale area — 17.5 miles from Pittsburgh.

Johns graduated from QV with a sparkling 4.36 GPA and when considering her college choices, narrowed the final options to four — Ohio Wesleyan, Butler, William & Mary and Ohio University.

Johns picked Ohio Wesleyan for a myriad of reasons.

“I chose Ohio Wesleyan because I liked the size of it, and it had everything I was looking for in a school,” she said. “They have a beautiful campus in a good location. It’s a great town, not too far from home, and it’s an overall great atmosphere.”

Ohio Wesleyan is a private liberal arts college located in Delaware, Ohio — 27 miles north of Columbus. The college offers 25 varsity men’s and women’s sports

The women’s basketball team is a member of the NCAA Division III North Coast Athletic Conference with the nickname of the Battling Bishops.

“Things are great here,” Johns said. “I love the school and the team. It has definitely become home, and I am very happy with my decision to come here.”

Ohio Wesleyan won the regular-season conference championship last season along with an NCAA first-round tournament game. The Battling Bishops were ranked No. 12 in Division III last week.

“My expectations for the team this year are to win the NCAC regular season and tournament conference championship,” Johns said. “Also to make it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. I have very high hopes for our team this year since we have everyone back from last year.”

Johns was a three-sport athlete at Quaker Valley, participating deftly in basketball, track and soccer. She earned four letters in all three sports, was an all-section selection in basketball and set the school record in the girls 300-meter hurdles.

“I do miss representing Quaker Valley in all three sports,” Johns said, “but I have loved playing for OWU and playing at such a high level. Being here and playing with some of the best has been such a great experience and has improved my skill and knowledge of basketball so much.”

Johns also was a two-time PIAA and three-time WPIAL titlist in track and field and helped lead the girls track and field team to a pair of WPIAL titles.

“Nora is a great athlete but an even better competitor,” QV track coach Jared Jones said. “It doesn’t matter the sport. If there is a competition involved, Nora is all in and will do whatever it takes to do her best.”

The OWU sophomore’s basketball coach at QV was her dad, Ken Johns.

“Nora’s doing well in her second year at Ohio Wesleyan,” coach Johns said. “She decided to focus on basketball. They have everybody back from last year, and her minutes are increasing as the season is moving along and getting into conference play.”

Johns ended her soccer career at QV by scoring the winning goal late in the game in a 1-0 victory against Blackhawk.

“Nora Johns is the type of player who never stops working hard,” said Rachel Loudermilk, who coaches the girls soccer team along with Maggie Behun. “She spent most of the season playing defense, but we knew with her speed, she was capable of beating our opponent’s back line and scoring goals. In this game and all of our games, Nora never backed down or slowed down.”

Added Behun, “Nora stands out because of her speed and versatility as a player, which is what helps her make an immediate impact on the field.

“Whether she was keeping the other team from being dangerous in our defensive end or creating opportunities in the offense, Nora was a force to be reckoned with. She letters in three sports, which benefits her on the pitch. That is what led her to our game-winning goal.”

Johns was named a recipient of the WPIAL’s James Collins Scholar-Athlete Award in her senior year at QV and was nominated for a few other awards and scholarships.

Johns is majoring in communication and French in college.

Tags: Quaker Valley