South Fayette striving to stay at the top

Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

South Fayette knows staying at the top in scholastic girls’ basketball is harder than getting to the pinnacle.

After winning back-to-back WPIAL championships and finishing runner-up in the PIAA tournament in 2023, the Lady Lions are laboring diligently to remain among the best clubs in Class 5A this winter. In hopes of equalling or bettering last year’s 28-3 mark, South Fayette held a number of open gyms and weightlifting sessions. Additionally, the majority of the players competed in AAU during the spring and summer months.

“The girls have put in the time,” said South Fayette floor boss Bryan Bennett. “They know they need to come to practice every day with the goal of getting better.

“Last year we learned that there are no nights off,” Bennett continued. “The teams we play will be well prepared and give their best effort. In order to achieve our goals this year, we will need to improve each and every day.”

The Lady Lions are forging ahead without three starters that helped them produce of the most successful girls’ basketball seasons in school history in 2023.

Maddie Webber, who was an all-state selection and the Pennsylvania Player of the Year, is currently playing at Villanova. She averaged 17.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game and finished with 1,387 career points.

Ava Leroux, who as a two-sport standout and helped the Lady Lions to the WPIAL finals in volleyball, is competing at Elon University. An all-section and all-district performer, she averaged 11.9 points and 8.1 rebounds a game last winter for SF.

Rachel Black, who also played soccer, was the other starter at guard. Cami Feltz came off the bench as a key reserve.

South Fayette’s two returning starters are Lainey Yater and Erica Hall.

Yater directs the offense. The point guard averaged eight points and dished up five assists a game last winter. Yater recently signed a national letter of intent to play basketball for Saginaw Valley State University while majoring in business.

Hall is a standout forward. She averaged nine points and six rebounds for the Lady Lions last winter. She has several scholarship offers, including a bid from West Liberty.

Ryan Oldaker and Juliette Leroux, who saw significant playing time last season as freshmen, are expected to make an impact in the lineup along with Haylie Lamonde, Cierra Rexrode and Alexa Antrum.

The Lady Lions will also rely upon Taylor Oldaker, Alexis Toth, Ainsley Burns, Hannah Patterson, Bella Cestra, Elle Astorino, Caroline Satler, Lailah Wright, Kate Black and Kylie Rumberger.

“Our team strength is our depth,” said Bennett. “We also have a lot of very talented kids. They put a ton of time in during the offseason to improve.”

The Lions compete in Section 1 against teams that have kept pace. Trinity, Lincoln Park and Montour all have a number of returning players from squads that made the playoffs last year. Moon and West Allegheny showed improvement as the season progressed.

“We have a very difficult section,” Bennett said. “I expect every game to be difficult because all of the teams are well prepared and talented.”