Quaker Valley Girls Earn Section Title with Win over OLSH

Monday night will go down in sports history.

The girls varsity basketball team beat Our Lady of Sacred Heart, 55-36, at home, capturing its first Section 6-AA Championship title since 1981.

“I feel amazing,” said junior guard Rachel Smith, between tears.

Junior point guard Sierra Perlik, also emotional, agreed with her teammate. 

“I feel amazing right now, I don’t know how else to explain it. 1981 is a long time,” Perlik said.

Missy Walls couldn’t help but smile after the victory. As a member of the 1981 championship team, she knows just what it feels like to play your heart out and come out on top. Walls said she enjoyed watching the girls play.

“It’s exciting. It’s awesome,” she said. “What a great time to come back.”

Coach Jim Dudas said he was feeling relieved at the conclusion of the game. He said the Lady Quakers were competing in a tough section and that OLSH was a tough team.

“We were confident, but you just don’t know,” Dudas said.

But the Quakers have been on cruise control this season, gaining momentum with each victory. The team won a tight game against last week and clinched a share of the section title Thursday with a win against South Side Beaver. With Monday’s win against OLSH, QV earned the title.

As proud family and friends looked on, members of the team celebrated the landmark moment, taking turns climbing a ladder to cut the net from the rim, a souvenir of the hard-fought victory.

Dudas said the net will go in the school's awards case alongside other honors.

“I was hoping things would work out and they did,” said Dudas, clutching the net. “It’s been 30 years since they had one of these,” he said.

The girls started off strong, leading 12-8 at the end of the first period. OLSH attempted to close the gap, but trailed the Quakers 26-18 at halftime. At the start of the fourth period, Quaker Valley led 43-30 and continued to extend the lead.

The Lady Quakers went on to finish strong. With seconds left in game, Quaker Valley scored and blocked a last-ditch attempt by OLSH to score three points.

Perlik led Quaker Valley with 20 points, while Smith added 10 points and senior guard DeAnn Ryan scored 15 points.

Assistant coaches Amy Young and Jim Trovato said they were proud of the team. Young, who is in her first year with the team, said the girls play well together.

“This is exciting,” she said.