Lions roar: Third time a charm for South Fayette
By Eleanor Bailey/Almanac Sports Editor/ebailey@thealmanac.net
South Fayette defeated Chartiers Valley, 57-48, to capture the WPIAL Class 5A girls’ basketball championship title. The team is pictured here with their gold medals and championship trophy.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
South Fayette players jump up and down for joy after receiving their gold medals for beating Chartiers Valley, 57-48, in the championship game.
By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Maddie Webber hugs the WPIAL trophy while her South Fayette teammates celebrate their 57-48 victory over Chartiers Valley. Webber is one of four returning starters from last year’s 23-5 championship club. The Villanova recruit averaged 18 points and four rebounds per game last winter.
By Eleanor Bailey/Almanac Sports Editor/ebailey@thealmanac.net
Lainey Yater (11) makes her move to the basket as Hallie Cowan (4) attempts to keep up. Yater scored 10 points to help South Fayette beat Chartiers Valley, 57-48, in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game.
By Eleanor Bailey/Almanac Sports Editor/ebailey@thealmanac.net
Maddie Webber receives a congratulatory hug from a teammate after South Fayette defeated Chartiers Valley, 57-48, to capture the WPIAL Class 5A girls’ basketball title. Webber scored 17 points in the triumph.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Raven Mozick (20), Alex Toth (10), Alexa Ankrum (40), Taylor Oldaker (12) and Ainsley Burns (24) celebrate after South Fayette’s scored a critical basket during its 57-48 victory against Chartiers Valley in the WPIAL championship game.
Ava Leroux (2), Rachel Black (25), Julianna Rossi (1), Jessica Burns (21), Cami Feltz (31) and Sydney Burns anxiously await a shot to drop in South Fayette's favor during WPIAL championship action. Leroux scored 11 points for the Lions in a 57-48 win against Chartiers Valley.
By Eleanor Bailey/Almanac Sports Editor/ebailey@thealmanac.net
South Fayette’s Maddie Webber keeps her eyes on the basket as she drives past Hallie Cowan (4) of Chartiers Valley. Webber scored 17 points to lead the Lions to victory against the Colts, 57-48, in the WPIAL Class 5A girls’ championship game.
Erica Hall (32) of South Fayette takes the ball to the basket against the defense of Perri Page (11) of Chartiers Valley. Hall scored 10 points to help the Lions to victory, 57-48. Page exploded for 27 points in a losing effort.
By Eleanor Bailey/Almanac Sports Editor/ebailey@thealmanac.net
South Fayette’s Maddie Webber (34) puts up a shot despite the defensive efforts of Hallie Cowan of Chartiers Valley. Webber scored 17 points in the Lions’ 57-48 win against the Colts in the WPIAL Class 5A finals.
Lainey Yater attempts to get rid of the ball but is fouled by Perri Page during WPIAL championship action. Yater scored 10 points to help South Fayette upend Chartiers Valley, 57-48, in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game. Page scored 27 points for the Lions.
There aren’t a lot of high school basketball programs – boys or girls – that have done it better than Chartiers Valley over the past 30 years, and there aren’t a lot of WPIAL coaches in any sport that have won as much as the Colts’ Tim McConnell.
In 25 seasons as the Colts’ head boys basketball coach, McConnell won six WPIAL championships.
In almost four full seasons on the girls side, he’s won three titles. Most expected him to win his 10th overall title March 6 against South Fayette at the Peterson Events Center.
But the Lions know CV, having played the Colts twice in the regular season. The Lions lost both meetings. In the third and most important one, however, SF came out the victor, 57-48, in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game.
In the previous losses, the Lions (22-4) were outscored by a combined 33-12 in the first quarter. They ended up losing both games by a combined nine points.
South Fayette coach Bryan Bennett knew his team had to make a statement early.
“We knew we had to deliver the first blow, and I’m so proud of these kids,” Bennett said. “They came out, and they were the aggressor tonight.”
For CV, the reason for the defeat was simple.
“I thought they played harder than us,” McConnell said. “They wanted it more than us.”
“They wanted it more,” agreed CV’s Perri Page, who finished with a game-high 27 points.
Pitt recruit Aislin Malcolm added 15 points while the rest of CV’s roster combined for six points.
For Maddie Webber, this defensive effort resulted from winning the rebounding battle, which South Fayette did, 36-19, and out-hustling the Colts.
“We went after every loose ball,” she said. “It was ours. Every single one.”
South Fayette didn’t make a statement right away, trailing 12-11 at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, however, the Lions took command and went into halftime up 31-25.
Chartiers Valley never got off the canvas. In the second half, the Lions continued to have the upper hand. Bennett then took advantage of his team’s ability to spread the floor.”We’ve done this several times this year,” Bennett said. “We’re capable. We have great ball handlers who can take care of it. So we knew that they were going to (double team) us, and we had to spread it out. (We were) fortunate to make plays and foul shots at the end.”
Although McConnell said South Fayette was the better team and earned what it got, he also believes that teams holding the ball for extended periods is something that needs to go away in high school basketball.
“They got a lead on us, and then they played real patient. That’s the exact reason why high school basketball needs a shot clock.”
Overall, the win was everything Maddie Webber and her teammates hoped it’d be, and then some.
“I don’t know if I expected it, but I knew there was a chance,” said Webber, who scored 17 points and added a team-high nine rebounds. “I knew, if we just played hard, we would win. Because we had something to prove to everyone.”
Ava Leroux finished with 11 points and eight rebounds for South Fayette. Lainey Yater and Erica Hall – both sophomores – added 10 tallies.
With two sophomores and two juniors starting, not many expected the youthful Lions’ time to come just yet especially since CV has five college-committed starters and a combined 15 WPIAL titles between them.
Webber’s sister, Mia, is the lone senior in the starting lineup. She didn’t worry about her younger teammates.
“Even though they’re younger, they’re still experienced,” she said. “They just took it to CV. They didn’t care that they were younger and CV is older than them. They just played as hard as they could.”
Char Valley (24-2) and South Fayette (22-4) have both qualified for the PIAA tournament. The Colts were state champions in 2019 and runners-up in 2021. There were no PIAA finals in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
South Fayette and Chartiers Valley advanced in the PIAA Class 5A tournament.
While the Lions defeated Lampeter-Strasburg, 63-38, the Colts dropped Harbor Creek, 65-16.
For the Colts, who led 25-7 after one frame and 39-9 at halftime, four players finished in double digits: Perri Page (19), Helene Cowan (12), Hallie Cowan (11) and Aislin Malcolm (11).
In PIAA Class 6A boys’ action, Mt. Lebanon (16-10) succumbed to Warwick, 54-40. Christian Powers pumped in 16 points for the Blue Devils, who trailed 20-4 after the first frame.