Claudia Ierullo scored 23 points, including nine in the first quarter, to stake Our Lady of the Sacred Heart to an 11-point lead, and the Chargers held on to defeat Quaker Valley, 52-44, Monday night in a WPIAL Class 3A Section 1 girls basketball game at Cornell High School.
OLSH remained unbeaten on the season, improving to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the section. Quaker Valley dropped to 3-5 and 1-2 in section play.
Ierullo’s first-quarter exploits played a major role in the outcome, according to OLSH coach Don Eckerle. “That was the difference in the game,” he said of Ierullo’s nine points in the opening eight minutes.
Eckerle praised the play of Leah Parker, who contributed 12 points and was a force on the offensive end the entire game. Eckerle also said he was proud of the way his team held up when challenged down the stretch by the Quakers and their 6-foot-5 junior standout Mimi Thiero, who scored 19 of her 30 points in the second half.
“Thiero was challenging to defend in the second half,” he said. “She is a very difficult matchup because we don’t have much height.”
OLSH led 19-8 after one quarter and extended that lead to 28-18 at halftime. The Chargers added to their margin in the third quarter and owned a 40-28 advantage going into the final quarter.
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