Our Lady of the Sacred Heart held Quaker Valley standout Mimi Thiero in check in the first half of Thursday night’s key WPIAL Class 3A Section 1 girls basketball matchup at OLSH’s Angela Activities Center.
The second half? Not so much.
The 6-foot-4 Thiero put the Quakers on her back in the final two quarters, scoring 24 of her game-high 29 points to lead her team to a 37-36 victory over the Chargers.
With the win, Quaker Valley claimed sole possession of second place in the section, improving to 8-2 and 11-6 overall. OLSH, which led 15-11 at halftime, fell to 6-4 in the section and 12-6 overall.
OLSH coach Don Eckerle said he liked the way his team competed, despite the outcome.
“We played hard to the end,” he said. “We came back several times to put us in a position to win.
“I’m very proud of our performance – we just fell short this time.”
The Chargers led by seven points, 20-13, with less than 5 minutes to play in the third quarter, but Thiero scored seven points to key a 10-0 run and give the Quakers a 23-20 lead.
OLSH rallied, though, as Lola Garner scored four straight points and Macie Trombetta’s 3-pointer gave the Chargers a 27-23 lead at the end of the third quarter.
OLSH once again opened up a little breathing room, scoring the first four points of the final quarter to expand its lead to 31-23, but that’s when Thiero took over.
The University of Maryland commit scored 11 straight points, hitting a 3-pointer, going coast-to-coast for a layup, draining two free throws, coming up with a steal and score, blocking a shot and then hitting a jumper at the other end to vault Quaker Valley into a 34-31 lead.
But OLSH did not quit. Sara Daeschner and Thiero traded baskets to make it 36-33 in favor of Quaker Valley but on an ensuing possession, Thiero fouled out with 1 minute, 36 seconds to play, giving the Chargers life.
But OLSH committed turnovers on back-to-back possessions, and Quaker Valley’s Keira Watson hit a free throw to make it 37-33 with 1 minute remaining.
Leah Parker’s layup with 39.2 left cut the lead to 37-35 and after a Quaker Valley turnover, OLSH freshman Jules Goshen converted one of two free throws with 25.8 left to trim it to 37-36.
Quaker Valley missed a pair of free throws with 14.6 seconds left, giving OLSH a shot to tie or go ahead, but the Chargers failed to capitalize on a pair of free throw opportunities, and a 3-pointer in the final seconds missed the mark.
Garner’s 13 points led the Chargers.
Chartiers Valley 48, Moon Area 37
Alyssa Davis scored 21 points as the Colts downed the Tigers in a Class 5A Section 3 contest at Moon.
Chartiers Valley led throughout, holding a 12-7 advantage after one quarter and a 23-20 lead at halftime. The Colts maintained their edge in the second half, outscoring the Tigers 25-17 to improve to 7-12 overall and 6-3 in section play.
Anya Schwartz scored 13 points to lead Moon, which fell to 6-10 overall and 2-6 in section play.
South Fayette 69, Montour 31
Haylie Lamonde scored 17 points to lead the defending state champion Lions past the Spartans in a Class 5A Section 3 contest at Montour.
South Fayette, which also got 14 points from Ryan Oldaker, 13 from Lailah Wright and 12 from Juliette Leroux, led 21-7 at the end of one quarter and 49-16 at halftime.
Tiffany Miller scored 13 points to lead Montour, which fell to 12-5 overall and 4-5 in the section.
Sto-Rox 45, Mohawk 36
Rae Johnston led a balanced Vikings attack with 12 points to help Sto-Rox extract a measure of revenge in a win over the Warriors in a Class 3A Section 1 contest at Sto-Rox.
The Vikings, who improved to 7-8 overall and 4-6 in section play, lost by two points to Mohawk in the first meeting between the two teams at Mohawk earlier this season.
Sto-Rox led 19-6 at halftime and 34-18 heading into the final quarter before the Vikings’ reserves took over.
Kamiyah Thompson added 11 points for Sto-Rox and Dani Reel contributed 10.
Addy Moskal led Mohawk with 18 points, including 10 in the four quarter, and Jayde Harman added 10.
Geibel Catholic 65, Bishop Canevin 30
Mallory Clemmer poured in 28 points as the host Gators rolled past the Crusaders to remain unbeaten in a Class 1A Section 2 game.
Emma Larkin added 17 points for Geibel, which improved to 18-0 overall and 11-0 in section play. The Gators led 19-2 after one quarter and 35-9 at halftime.
Kya Cooley scored 16 points to lead Bishop Canevin, now 6-11 overall and 5-6 in the section.
Fort Cherry 45, Carlynton 7
The Rangers had no trouble dispatching the Cougars in a Class 2A Section 2 matchup at Fort Cherry.
Brooke Cornali and Allison Litman each scored nine points for Fort Cherry, which led 30-2 at halftime.
The loss leaves Carlynton 5-11 overall and 0-5 in section play.
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