Schools

Quaker Valley Girls Rally to Beat Avonworth

The varsity girls won 48-45 Monday night at home.

girls basketball coach Jim Dudas was feeling better at the conclusion of Monday night’s game than he did at halftime, when the Quakers were trailing Avonworth.

The Lady Quakers went on to capture the 48-45 Section 6-AA win.

“They’ve been working so hard,” Dudas said. “This has been a goal since last year and I couldn’t be prouder. This is tremendous.”

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Last year, the Quakers had trouble against Avonworth’s Lady Lopes, considered one of the top teams in the WPIAL. Following a 65-48 loss to the team , Dudas told Patch, “We’ll get better.”

He wasn’t kidding.

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The Quakers were down 25-12 at halftime, but remained in control. After falling behind 27-14 in the third period, the Quakers closed the gap and tied the game 37-37 with 7:30 left in the fourth.

With 45 seconds left, Quaker Valley led 44-43, then 46-45, keeping the crowd on its feet until the last second.

Senior guard DeAnn Ryan sank two foul shots that ended the game. Junior guard Rachel Smith added 14 points and Ryan led Quaker Valley with 26 points. Ryan was honored at halftime for scoring her 1,000th point last week in a road win against Northgate.

The Quakers are at the top of the standings (9-4, 8-1), and have upcoming sectional games against South Side Beaver on Thursday and Our Lady of Sacred Heart on Feb. 6.

Dudas said both are “tough teams,” but if the Quakers can get through the next two games, he said, they'll be “in the spot we’d like to be in” for the WPIAL playoffs.


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