QV Basketball Teams Enter Playoffs With Winning Momentum

Basketball fans looking for a wildcard team to follow in the WPIAL basketball playoffs might want to consider the Quaker Valley girls.

Coming off a stunning 44-35 upset over tournament No. 3 seed Deer Lakes (20-2) on Monday, the Quaker Valley girls enter the postseason with as much momentum as any team.

The Quakers (14-8) open the Class AA tournament against Ford City (16-6) at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Northgate High School.

The fourth-seeded Quaker Valley boys (19-3) come in riding the wave of a nine-game winning streak and have a week to prepare for their opening WPIAL tournament test on Wednesday, Jan. 23, at a site and time to be determined.

Quaker Valley boys open up against the winner of this Saturday’s Bishop Canevin (12-10) and Ford City (14-8) matchup which will be played at 1:30 p.m. at Fox Chapel High School.

“That win over Deer Lakes was  a great win for our girls, and one of those signature wins,” Deer Lakes coach Jim Dudas said. “I’m pleased the way the girls have responded. We’re 14-8, but we’ve played a lot of very good teams.”

Dudas said he saw several girls step up during the tough stretch at the end of the regular season, which included a two-point loss to Our Lady of Sacred Heart (29-27), a second-straight win against Sto-Rox (45-33), a loss to fourth-seeded Biship Canevin (59-33) and the upset over Deer Lakes.

“We ended the season against four very good teams, which is a good way to go into the playoffs,” he said.

Quaker Valley will rely on a steady cast that includes active sophomore Rachel Smith who has pulled won an average of 14 rebounds per game coming down the stretch. Sophomore guard Sierra Perlik and junior guard DeAnn Ryan both have averaged right around 15 points per game over the last six games, Dudas said.

The Ford City girls won 10 of their last 12 games in the regular season.

Odd things happen in the WPIAL playoffs, and Quaker Valley boys and girls teams might have the rare chance to play both Ford City teams in their opening-round games – but only if the Ford City boys defeat Bishop Canevin in their initial postseason test.

Quaker Valley boys didn’t win the Section 6-AA race with a 10-2 league finish, while coming in second behind Beaver Falls (12-0). However, the Quakers earned a higher seed (fouth vs. fifth) than undefeated Section 5-AA champ Sto-Rox (10-0 section, 19-3 overall).

That doesn’t happen often, but the WPIAL basketball committee apparently found it hard to ignore Quaker Valley’s defense, which led Class AA by giving up just 41.7 points per game.

The Quaker boys were placed in the same side of the bracket which includes top-seeded Greensburg Central Catholic (20-2), while No. 2 Beaver Falls (17-5) and No. 3 Monessen (19-2) line up on the opposite side of the bracket.