Reserves help lift South Fayette into PIAA finals
All season, even when senior standouts Maddie Weber and Ava Leroux were overwhelming opponents with their scoring exploits, South Fayette girls basketball coach Bryan Bennett said he had confidence in his bench and wasn’t afraid to utilize it in a close game.
The Lions found themselves in such a situation March 21 early in the fourth quarter of the PIAA Class 5A semifinals against Oakland Catholic at Peters Township’s AHN Arena. And Bennett showed confidence in his bench players, and they came through during the biggest win in South Fayette basketball history.
With Lions point guard Lainey Yater saddled with four fouls, South Fayette was clinging to a two-point lead and Bennett didn’t hesitate to play a little offense-defense substituting with his reserves. The results were exactly what South Fayette needed as two backup guards played key roles in helping South Fayette pull out a 58-54 victory.
As Yater headed to the bench with 5:50 remaining, South Fayette (28-2) was leading 46-44. Bennett then inserted freshman Ryan Oldaker into the game. Oldaker. She had spent much of the previous hour sitting on the bench and cheering. But with the Lions draining precious time off the clock, Oldaker found herself alone at the top of the key and with the basketball. She calmly made a clutch three-point shot that pushed the Lions’ lead to 49-44. It was Oldaker’s only shot of the game.
“I had total confidence that Ryan was going to make that shot,” Webber said. “She’s a great shooter and you see that from her every day in practice. That shot gave us some momentum.”
Oakland Catholic, however, refused to fold. The Eagles never led in the game but finally tied it at 49-49 when guard Rachel Haver drove for a basket with 4:15 remaining.
On Oakland Catholic’s next possession, South Fayette backup guard Julianna Rossi, who was inserted each time the Lions were on defense in the fourth quarter, forced a key five-second violation with some tight defense against Haver at the top of the key.
“Julianna is a tough kid,” said Bennett. “She’s not afraid to stick her nose in there. She’s a defensive specialist.”
The five-second call set up two free throws by Leroux and gave the Lions the lead for good at 51-49.
Oh, the Lions had plenty of Webber, too. The Villanova recruit made the game’s most important basket, a three-pointer with 1:56 left that put South Fayette up 54-49. Webber finished with a game-high 24 points, including 10 in the opening quarter.
Oakland Catholic (25-5) climbed back to within two points at 56-54, but Leroux sealed a trip to Hershey for the state finals by draining two free throws with eight seconds left.
“I was nervous,” Leroux said. “I had to compose myself. This is so exciting. This has never happened at our school.”
South Fayette was scheduled to play District 12 champion Archbishop Wood (24-5) in the state title game. (Results occurred too late for publication in March 26 edition of The Almanac). Archbishop Wood defeated West Chester Rustin, 52-35, in the other semifinal.
Lions edge PrepThanks to a buzzer-beater by Webber, South Fayette advanced to the PIAA semifinals with a thrilling 40-37 victory over Cathedral Prep on March 18 at Sharon High School.
With 14 seconds remaining, Rachel Black inbounded the ball to Lainey Yater. She drove to her right before passing the ball back to Black on the wing. Black looked for Webber cutting to the hoop but she ran into a crowd. Black dribbled to the basket then passed the ball out to Webber, who worked her way back to the top of the key. Webber then launched her shot well beyond the 3-point arc that secured the victory and set off a wild celebration on the court by the South Fayette players.
The Lions rallied from a 27-15 deficit by tightening up their defense. They held the Ramblers to two, second-half field goals, both in the third quarter.
Cathedral Prep made 10 of 12 free throw attempts in the second half but missed three in a row in the final 45 seconds of play.
Juliette Leroux knocked down a pair of clutch foul shots to know the game at 37-37 before Webber’s heroics.
Webber finished with 15 points. Erica Hall supplied 11 tallies while Ava Leroux pitched in with seven markers, all in the final frame as the Lions outscored the Ramblers, 16-8.
Junior guard Lena Walz and sophomore center Addie Biel led Cathedral Prep with 13 and 11 points respectively.