Joanie Quinn powers Cardinal O’Hara past Parkland, advancing to PIAA 6A girls’ final

It’s become a habit for Cardinal O’Hara’s Joanie Quinn.

Since the second round of the PIAA 6A girls’ basketball playoffs, the senior guard would go for a pregame stroll around the court arm-in-arm with freshman Leah Hudak. Quinn has also made a habit of having a standout performance in the Lions’ state run, especially on Monday night.

Quinn led her team with 21 points as Cardinal O’Hara ousted District 11 champion Parkland, 51-32, sending the Lions to their third state title game in four years. They will take on Spring-Ford at the Giant Center in Hershey on Friday at 6 p.m.

“I thought that might have been Joanie Quinn’s best game in her four years,” said Lions coach Chrissie Doogan. “She was tasked with guarding an all-state type guard [Talia Zurinskas], then she broke the pressure. She was very good tonight.”

Quinn laughed when asked about the unusual pregame ritual. The senior, who is committed to La Salle, said it came about when Doogan told her players to get moving after a long bus ride before competing in the second round.

“I always walk with my grandma that way,” Quinn said. “We sing a little bit, we sang a lot of ‘Mamma Mia’ today.”

Quinn had the job of face-guarding Trojans senior Talia Zurinskas, a quick-twitch shooter with a lot of range.

Zurinskas had a solid first quarter, scoring 10 points, but Quinn matched that with eight points and three assists as O’Hara built a 19-12 lead. Doogan didn’t want to get into a shootout or fall behind, so the first quarter went pretty smoothly.

“I told them, ‘Guys, [Zurinskas] and [Madison Siggins] are who they want to get the ball to,’” Doogan said. “We gave up 12 points in the first quarter and 20 the rest of the game. They just got locked in and defended the heck out of it.”

It wasn’t strictly Quinn, but she helped hold Zurinskas to 2-for-10 shooting in the final three quarters.

“I love face-guarding,” Quinn said. “I don’t have to do help defense — I don’t have to worry about getting beat backdoor or always knowing where my player is.”

Quinn also had five rebounds, six assists, and two steals. The passing was contagious as O’Hara racked up 15 assists on 20 made baskets.

Parkland cut the lead to 19-17 early in the second quarter. But junior Molly Rullo, who’s committed to Drexel, came back with an inside bucket assisted by Quinn, then played zone buster on back-to-back possessions, hitting two three-pointers to give O’Hara a double-digit edge.

“We were told before the game if there was a slow start, just continue playing defense and that will project to our offense,” said Rullo, who added 18 points. “Once they go hand-in-hand, we’re pretty good.”

Senior Carly Coleman contributed a solid all-around game with nine points, six rebounds, and five assists.

“It’s so fun to play right now,” she said. “We’re all trusting in each other, we all love each other. We’ve been here going at it for five months now, but this is the part where it’s fun.”

This story was produced as part of a partnership between The Inquirer and City of Basketball Love, a nonprofit news organization that covers high school and college basketball in the Philadelphia area while also helping mentor the next generation of sportswriters. This collaboration will help boost coverage of the city’s vibrant amateur basketball scene, from the high school ranks up through the Big 5 and beyond.