South Fayette steamrolls way into PIAA finals
Tops Peters Township second year in a row
For the second year in a row, South Fayette (29-1) advanced to the state finals in girls basketball, and for the second straight season, the Lady Lions beat Peters Township in the semifinals to earn its spot in the PIAA Class 5A championship game played March 21 at the Giant Center in Hershey.
In 2025, the Lady Indians wrested the WPIAL title from South Fayette, but the Lady Lions got their revenge beating Peters Township in the state semifinals.
This winter, the teams met in the district semifinals with South Fayette posting a 66-27 victory. On March 17 in the PIAA semifinals, the result was similar as the Lady Lions again steamrolled over Peters Township, 67-24, at Bethel Park High School.
“South Fayette is a really good team and It’s a great opportunity to have played them in the state semifinals for a second consecutive season,” Limberiou said
“South Fayette is as a baseline 25 more points talented than any other team in the WPIAL,” he added. “They’re the best team from a talent perspective that I’ve seen in my time coaching.”
South Fayette’s starting three seniors are all committed to colleges – Ryan Oldaker to Marist; Juliette Leroux to Florida Atlantic and Haylie Lamonde to the University of South Carolina, Upstate – while remaining starters – Lailah Wright and Ella Vierra – have attractive Division I offers.
Vierra led the offensive attack against Peters Township. She pumped in a game-high 19 points.
“She played a complete game,” SF head coach Bryan Bennett said. “I thought she played under control and poised. I think what people forget about her is that she’s only a sophomore. She has the skill of a senior, but she’s such a young kid and is still learning the game. She did a great job on both ends of the floor.”
Lamonde and Oldaker followed Vierra with 14 and 13 tallies respectively.
South Fayette jumped ahead, 14-5, before settling into a 34-13 lead by intermission. A 10-point run to start the third quarter put the contest in “Mercy Rule” mode. The Lady Lions won the frame, 23-3, then outscored the Lady Indians, 10-8, while subbing in all players off the bench.
Meanwhile, Taylor McCullough led Peters Township’s attack, picking up 11 points.
The Indians, who played without starting sophomore Jordyn Welsh (ACL injury incurred in state quarterfinals), graduate two senior starters in Bri Morreale and Alina Sopko. Despite this year’s 18-11 overall record, Morreale and Sopko won 81 games in their scholastic careers, advanced to multiple final fours in the district, won a WPIAL crown and reached the state’s semifinals twice.
“Those two were around before we started winning a lot and they were bought in before Peters Township girls basketball was popular,” Limberiou said. “That’s what I’m so appreciative of is that they believed from the beginning. They’re complete winners and very good kids. That’s what I’m most proud of more than anything.”
For some Lady Lions, like Leroux, this is their third trip to the PIAA finals. Last year, they won the state title in girls basketball for the first time in program history.
South Fayette (29-1) looked to defend its title when they faced Archbishop Wood, last year’s championship opponent, in the PIAA championship.
“It’s really exciting, because this is our third time going to the state final,” Lions senior Juliette Leroux said. “It’s a once in a lifetime experience for some teams, so I’m really grateful to be able to go three times now. I’m super proud of our team. We were really strong from start to finish.”
SHORT & LONG
South Fayette took the short route to the semifinals while Peters Township took the long road.
As the District 7 champion, the Lady Lions beat Penn-Trafford, 58-28, in the second round and Baldwin, 65-41, in the quarterfinals. Both games were played at the AHN Arena on the Peters Township High School campus in McMurray.
SF’s patented person-to-person, full-court defense forced 20 Warrior turnovers while Ryan Oldaker (15), Haylie Lamonde (12) and Lailah Wright (10) scored in double figures. Juliette Leroux pitched in with seven points and seven rebounds.
The Lions led, 13-7, after the first frame, thanks to a three-quarters-court 3-pointer at the buzzer by Wright. They stretched the margin to 28-15 by intermission.
SF held the Warriors to five field goals and 13 points in the second half. The Lady Lions outscored Penn-Trafford, 17-8, in the third quarter.
The Warriors, who finished third in the WPIAL and 21-7 overall, were led by Raya Johson’s nine points.
Meanwhile, the Highlanders gave the Lady Lions all they could handle on March 14. South Fayette led by only three points midway through the third quarter before going on a 26-5 scoring spree to spearhead the victory.
“We didn’t come out ready to play and that’s on me,” South Fayette coach Bryan Bennett said. “I give Baldwin all the credit in the world. They came out with a great game plan and their kids believed in it.”
Lamonde triggered SF’s rally, scoring six points to push the lead to 48-36. After another layup by Lamonde, a driving bucket by Wright and an Oldaker trey, the Lady Lions led, 55-36.
Lamonde finished with a game-high 22 tallies. Oldaker finished with 15 points, nine off 3-pointers, and Leroux followed with 10 markers.
For the Highlanders, who finished the season at 23-6 overall, the Bernotas sisters, Lynsey and Laci, each scored 14 points. Julianne Ott followed with 10 tallies.
As the District 7 fourth-place finisher, Peters Township traveled over 1,000 miles to qualify for the semifinal game played a mere seven miles away at Bethel Park High School.
The Lady Indians opened PIAA Class 5A tournament action by edging Susquehannock, 46-41, on its home court. Maddyn Mehl led the attack with 12 points. Alina Sopko and Jordyn Welsh followed with 11 and 10 tallies.
In the second round, Peters Township traveled to Altoona and upended Manheim Central, 54-32. In the quarterfinals, the Lady Indians dispatched York Suburban, 54-48, in overtime at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.
All three opponents represented District 3, with York Suburban being the champion.
“In some ways I’m not surprised,” Peters Township coach Steve Limberiou said about his team’s playoff run. “I’ve said all along our section is not just the toughest in Pittsburgh, but in the state. You’ve seen that the WPIAL has done well in the (state) playoffs. We’re battle tested with kids that played a ton of playoff games last year. I think they’re used to big environments and they’ve played good basketball.”
Peters Township, which qualified for the postseason by beating Bethel Park in the final game of the regular season, took control quickly against Manheim Central (19-9), which upset WPIAL runner-up Thomas Jefferson in the opening round of the state tournament. The Indians led 16-11 after one quarter and 31-13 at intermission. The margin swelled to 40-15 before the Barons rallied.
Bri Morreale, who has scored over 1,000 points in her career, fired in a game-high 18 points. Mehl finished with 12 markers while Welsh and Taylor McCullough chipped in 10 tallies apiece.
In the overtime triumph against York Suburban, the Lady Indians overcame adversity. They lost Welsh, a standout sophomore forward, to an ACL injury less than a minute into the contest.
According to Limberiou, Caitlyn Malloy did a commendable job filling in for Welsh. She, too, is a sophomore.
“You have to give a lot of credit to Caitlyn Malloy. With the game going to overtime, she probably played 32 minutes and she did a great job. (York Suburban) has some size and is pretty athletic around the rim and she really fought in there. She also hit a big three. I’m really proud of her. When her time came, she was ready for it.”
McCullough led the offensive attack with 20 points. Mehl followed with 17 markers.
After falling behind, 14-10, after one quarter, Peters Township trailed, 26-23, at halftime. The Lady Indians used a 7-0 run to make it 30-30 with four minutes to play in the third quarter. They led 36-33 after the frame.
After McCullough tied the game at 43 with a layup forcing overtime, free throws by Morreale (2) and Mehl thrust the Lady Indians into the lead for good, 49-46, with 46 seconds to play.
Peters Township made nine 3-point field goals in the win against York Suburban, which finished 24-3 overall.