The Quaker Valley boys basketball team has been unbeatable since the start of the new year.
The Quakers won 11 consecutive times, finished the regular season 19-3 overall and landed the top seed in the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs.
“With our consistent play over the season and by capturing the section championship, we thought we put ourselves in a place to be considered as the No. 1 seed,” QV coach Mike Mastroianni said. “The seed is not as important as the bracket and making sure you are prepared for your first game.”
QV received a first-round bye and was scheduled to play Feb. 18 against the winner of the Belle Vernon-Burrell matchup.
“We had an outstanding regular season with consistent play throughout the year,” Mastroianni said, “but the playoffs are the start of an entirely different season, and your approach is so important.”
QV’s veteran coach has been rotating seven players in games for the most part late in the season.
Zach Washington is a senior guard who averages 17.2 ppg for the Quakers. He is complemented regularly by a trio of backcourt players in sophomores Nic Cohen (16.2 ppg) and Harrison Kerley and junior Sam Chapman.
Chapman hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer Feb. 9 to lift QV to a thrilling 76-75 win in overtime against visiting Indiana.
“Sam did a tremendous job finishing the play,” Mastroianni said, “but the ball movement with all four of Sam’s teammates touching the ball prior to his shot is a reflection of our unselfish play this season.”
Forwards Kolton Johnson, a junior, Atticus Barr, a senior who started at quarterback on the QV football team, and sophomore Connor Dwyer provide amble board strength. Johnson, Barr and Dwyer all are 6-foot-2 or taller.
“Connor is back from an injury and he started our first 15 games,” Mastroianni said. “Our rotation includes Connor and Atticus.”
Quaker Valley won the Section 2-4A crown with a 10-0 record, rolling past the likes of Central Valley (6-4), Hopewell (6-4), Avonworth (5-5), Beaver (2-8) and Ambridge (1-9).
Another regular-season highlight took place when Mastroianni became the 14th coach in WPIAL history to attain victory No. 600. He now has 613.
Mastroianni’s son, Michael, is on the coaching staff this year as QV hopes to reel in the school’s third WPIAL boys basketball title and second in four years.
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Quaker Valley’s girls team nearly matched the guys by losing just once since Jan. 1.
QV won eight games in a row and 11 of its past 12 to take a 16-6 record into the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs.
The fourth-seeded Quakers were set to begin their postseason Feb. 13 at home against No. 13 Keystone Oaks.
“I don’t know that the seeding matters so much as the matchups,” QV coach Ken Johns said. “Everyone we play from here on out is going to be good and knows how to win. The seeding numbers next to the names don’t matter too much. We need to keep playing the way we know how to play regardless.
“Our approach really doesn’t change for the playoffs. We are working to improve every day we are in the gym. This time of year, we tend to focus on the things that need fine-tuning and really lean into the things that are going to help us get better. That includes skill work, lots of shooting, recovery work and rest.”
QV ended up second in Section 1 with a 12-2 record, losing two close games (52-48 and 51-48) to section champion Beaver Falls (14-0).
Keystone Oaks (12-9) and McGuffey (12-10) tied for third place in Section 3 with 7-5 marks. The Golden Eagles lost their final regular-season game to Bethel Park, 52-37, on Feb. 9 despite junior guard Natalee Tortorella’s 17 points.
Prior to that result, KO won four of five contests including a 48-38 section victory against Washington. Senior forward Hannah York led the Golden Eagles with 23 points and senior forward Kailyn Brannon added 12.
The KO girls face the unenviable task of attempting to harness QV’s 6-foot-5 Maryland recruit Mimi Thiero, the all-time leading scorer in girls basketball history at her school. She is the first female player at QV to account for more than 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career.
She also is the top female scorer in the WPIAL, averaging close to 30 ppg. Thiero pulls down 15.5 rebounds per game and averages 4 steals and 4.5 blocks.
QV’s other integral players include sophomore guard Keira Watson (10 ppg), junior guards Anna Campbell and Rose Cline, senior guard Lucy Roig and senior G/F Mia Floro.
“We’ve got a number of players who have played a lot of minutes for us,” Johns said, “so striking a balance of staying competitive in practice — so we have that edge while not pushing too hard — is what we are working towards.”