With her star still on the rise, Quaker Valley’s Mimi Thiero hits 1,000-point mark as junior

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, February 2, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Oumou “Mimi” Thiero entered select territory in the Quaker Valley girls basketball progam.

The 6-foot-5 Thiero, a junior guard/forward and Division I recruit, recently joined an elite group of Quaker Valley players in the school’s 1,000-point club.

Thiero scored 29 points Jan. 20 to reach the career milestone and lead the Quakers past Sto-Rox, 68-19, in a Section 1-3A game at home.

Thiero attained her 1,000th career point by hitting a 3-pointer in the third quarter.

“I’m just very grateful that I was able to do it as a junior,” Thiero said. “My teammates were so supportive and were counting down the points with me.

“I got a rebound and brought it up the court, then pulled up for a 3-pointer.”

Thiero had racked up 1,058 career points and was averaging 21 points and 17 rebounds per game following her team’s 47-32 win Jan. 27 against Riverside.

“I’m not sure what else to say that hasn’t already been said about Mimi,” QV coach Ken Johns said. “It’s quite an achievement, and when you talk to her, it’s clear she has bigger goals in mind for the team and herself.”

One of the most heavily recruited players in the state, Thiero is rated an ESPN four-star recruit and the No. 57 overall prospect in her class.

“We are very lucky to have Mimi as our team leader,” said Lucy Roig, a junior guard. “We all look up to her and are able to learn from her. She is a great teammate and definitely a huge strength that we have on our team.”

Thiero, a 4.0 student, has received nearly 50 NCAA Division I college offers, including from North Carolina, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Purdue, Penn State, Texas A&M, Northwestern, Clemson, Miami, Boston College, Providence, Arkansas and Kent State, along with Pitt, Duquesne and Robert Morris.

She also has garnered interest from Ivy League schools such as Harvard and Penn.

“One thing that is arguably most impressive about her is that she cares,” Johns said earlier this season. “She cares about her team and teammates, she cares about improving herself and making her team better and she cares about helping us be the best version of ourselves. That approach and attitude has not changed since she walked into the gym with us three years ago.

“I tell her that her attitude and her work ethic will take her far no matter where she goes and what she does. Those are things that make an impact and lead to success.”

Farrah Cosby is the all-time leading scorer in girls basketball at Quaker Valley with 1,396 career points. Cosby competed for the Quakers from 1991-95.

Others in the 1,000-point club are Corinne Washington (2018-21), with 1,313 points; Christa Rogers (2004-08), with 1,245; DeAnn Ryan (2009-12), with 1,143; Alexa Burzese (2006-10), with 1,058; Aria Alston-Smith (2013-17), with 1,045; Sierra Perlik (2009-13), with 1,028; and Bailey Garbee (2018-21), with 1,026.

Two other players who finished their careers near or above the 1,000-point milestone are Diane Schmitt (1976-80) and Missy Walls (1977-81).

Thiero joined her brother Adou as a 1,000-point scorer at QV. Adou, who started his college career at Kentucky and now is at Arkansas, ranks as the third-leading scorer in QV boys basketball history with 1,624 points from 2018-22.

The all-time leader is Justin Shegog, who netted 1,965 points from 1996-2000. Jeff Gaca (1985-89) is second with 1,663 points.

Rounding out the boys list are Coletrane Washington (2014-18), with 1,551 points; Markus Frank (2018-22) with 1,462; Ryan Courneen (2002-06) with 1,376; Danny Conlan (2015-19) with 1,252; Chris Iorio (1996-2000) with 1,162; Ryann Bradford (2004-06) with 1,158; Amir Johnson (2004-06) with 1,117; Amos Luptak (2013-17) with 1,112; Ryan Stowers (2015-19) with 1,105; Andy Wormsley (1994-97) with 1,099; and Willie Jordan (1982-85) with 1,092.

Adou Thiero and Frank combined for 3,086 career points and led the Quakers to the WPIAL Class 4A championship and second-place PIAA finish with a 27-1 overall record in 2021-22.

Mimi Thiero accounted for 22 points, 24 rebounds and six assists in leading Quaker Valley past Riverside in her team’s Section 1-3A win.

“It was a good team win,” Johns said. “I thought our defense was solid again all the way around. Riverside has a few good shooters, and we did a fairly good job of defending them. Offensively, we executed the game plan pretty well. We took a few bad shots early in the game but settled in nicely.

“We answered a second-half run that Riverside had with our own 11-1 run, which was keyed by our defense. We ended up with 13 assists on 19 made baskets, so that’s a really good ratio for us.”

Freshman forward Leasia Karto chipped in with 12 points, six rebounds and three steals against the Panthers.

“Leasia was great on both ends of the floor,” Johns said. “She is really playing well and adding a lot to the balance of the team.

“Keira Waston also facilitated well for us. She had six assists.”

QV improved to 9-8 overall and 7-4 in the section, tied for second with Riverside and Beaver Falls.

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