South Fayette wins third straight WPIAL title
After graduating two Division I players from back-to-back WPIAL championship clubs in 2022 and 2023, few people expected South Fayette (18-8) to claim a third title let alone contend for one especially after the Lady Lions finished third in their section this winter and entered the tournament as the No. 6 seed.
Nobody told the Lady Lions though.
After knocking off the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds McKeesport, 50-41, and Trinity, 53-39, in the semifinals and quarterfinals, South Fayette defeated No. 5 Armstrong, 70-63, in the Class 5A title tilt played March 2 at the Petersen Events Center.
“Honestly, it’s unbelievable that we made it here,” said senior Erica Hall.
“Once we saw our seeding though we knew that we had something to prove. Coming off losing Maddie (Webber) and Ava (Leroux), obviously they were big parts of our team. I think we looked for them at first early in the season, but then we kind of found our flow.”
South Fayette head coach Bryan Bennett agreed. He said his squad needed an adjustment period after Webber went off to Villanova and Leroux to Elon University.
“It’s just a special group,” he said. “I knew it was going to take time to kind of get to where we were because of our youth. I knew that we had talent. It was just learning how to play hard for 32 minutes, learning how to do little details.
“Once we did that it just clicked,” he continued. “That’s why we’re sitting here.”
The Lady Lions needed to play every second because the River Hawks did not quit, even after falling behind, 35-25, at halftime. They outscored the Lions, 18-12, in the third quarter and pulled to within 53-50 on a 3-point field goal from Emma Paul, who finished with a game-high 36 points and six treys.
South Fayette responded with a long-range shot by Juliette Leroux and a layup from Hall to provide some breathing room, 60-53, with three minutes to play.
Leroux led the offensive attack with 18 tallies while fellow sophomore Haylie Lamonde and Hall followed with 17 markers apiece.
Lamonde drained 9-of-10 shots from the free throw line. She, Hall and Lainey Yater each buried two, 3-pointers as the Lady Lions connected on 7-of-13 long-range shots.
A senior, Yater supplied nine points and dished up six assists.
Leroux and Hall each had three steals while Leroux and Hall pulled down eight rebounds apiece. Alexa Ankrum, who finished with six points, added seven boards.
With their third district banner in hand, the Lady Lions begin their quest for a state championship when the PIAA tournament commences March 9. South Fayette, which lost in the 2022 state final, will play Red Land, which finished eighth in District 3.
“That would be crazy,” said Yater of winning a state title. “That would be so special. We have a great group of girls, so it would mean something to a lot of us.
“This team is everything I could ever imagine. I can’t even explain it. It’s so much joy,” she added of winning the WPIAL title. “It’s so sad that I’m going to have to leave it soon.”