Feb 14, 2026 By Eleanor Bailey 7 min read

Haylie Lamonde admits to being a “superstitious” person.

The South Fayette High School senior eats chicken and rice with a salad every day at lunch. Before basketball practices end, and after her teammate, Ella Vierra, makes two free throws, she must swish a 3-point field goal.

For her pre-game ritual, she eats three Swizzels Squashies, the strawberry and cream variety. Then she swallows some Ibuprofen to ward off any pain from the bumps and bruises she might incur during South Fayette girls basketball contests.

Lamonde, however, is the one inflicting pain upon the opposition. During her four-year playing career, she has enjoyed sweet success in leading the Lady Lions to three section banners, two WPIAL titles and two appearances in state finals, capturing the 2025 PIAA crown after a 29-2 campaign.

She has gone from being named Almanac Rookie of the Year after averaging 11.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game to a NCAA Division I college recruit for the University of South Carolina – Upstate.

This winter, Lamonde is averaging 15 points, three rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.1 rebounds an outing as the Lady Lions enter the WPIAL Class 5A tournament as the No. 1 seed and sporting a 21-1 record.

“Haylie has been a consistent performer for us throughout all four years, truly stepping into her scoring role as a sophomore,” said South Fayette head coach Bryan Bennett. “She has worked extremely hard on all aspects of her game, evolving into a versatile scorer. Haylie is an outstanding three-point shooter, but she is equally dangerous when beating defenders off the dribble to get to the rim.”

According to Bennett, Lamonde’s impact extends far beyond the stat sheet through her vocal leadership and lead-by-example work ethic.

“While she is widely recognized for her scoring prowess, she influences the game in a multitude of ways, making an equal impact on the defensive end of the floor,” Bennett continued. “Her ability to balance offensive production with defensive grit makes her a complete player and the heartbeat of our team.”

Lamonde, indeed, keeps the Lions together. She knows when to stay serious and when to add levity. She says that the thing she is going to remember most when she looks back on her career at South Fayette is “all the fun” the players experienced.

“I love to make jokes,” Lamonde admitted. “They seem to keep the team loose. Our practices and games have always been one of the best feelings. But, we know when to get serious.”

While growing up, Lamonde dabbled in a variety of sports – volleyball, soccer and softball – but gravitated to basketball because of her parents and her teammates. Her father, Shawn, played basketball and football at Seton LaSalle then went on to compete as a quarterback at St. Francis University. Her mother, Laura, played soccer. Her brother, Nico, played football at South Fayette and a season at Baldwin Wallace.

“My parents were the biggest influence on me and I pursued basketball because I felt I could have a future in it. Plus, I had great teammates, who have been my friends all of my life.”

Lamonde celebrated recently with friends and family when she scored her 1,000th point during a 65-18 win on Feb. 2 against Chartiers Valley. Lamonde, who finished with 15 points, reached the milestone on a layup off a baseline, out-of-bounds play.

Lamonde became the second Lady Lion to achieve the feat this season – Juliette Leroux is the other – and only fifth in school history to surpass 1,000 points.

“It was a great feeling, especially knowing another teammate hit this with me this year,” Lamonde said. “There are no words to describe it. It’s a great accomplishment but hopefully there is so much more coming.”

Lamonde hopes to help the Lady Lions avenge last year’s loss in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game. The goal is also to repeat as state champions.

“Honestly, winning the WPIAL and states is insane. Even with a team as talented as ours, it’s not an easy thing to do. We are taking it game by game and not overlooking or underestimating anyone.”

Lamonde says the team has learned lessons from last year’s upset loss to Peters Township, 40-36, in the WPIAL final after squandering an eight-point lead as well as an earlier loss this winter to a team from Florida in a holiday tournament.

“Losses against great competition have helped us develop and get better and exposed things that we needed to work on. There were some holes in places that needed to be fixed. No matter how good you are there is room for improvement.

“Last year was so memorable and it started when we lost the WPIAL championship,” Lamonde continued. “I was speechless how we came back and won out. It’s not easy to do after a loss like that. Come back and put it all together again,” she said.

Lamonde credits her coaching staff and trainers for her personal and team’s success. In addition to doing a lot of training and playing on the AAU circuit, Lamonde has studied film and analyzed what went wrong on shots and corrected errors. She also practices her shooting and skills on weekends at the Collier Recreation Center.

“Haylie has worked extremely hard to develop different areas of her game. She can score at all three levels,” said Bennett.

“Haylie is an athlete who refuses to settle for complacency,” he added. “I expect her to maintain the same relentless work ethic in practice that she has displayed all season, as our primary goal remains focused on consistent, daily improvement.”

Lamonde is bound for the University of South Carolina Upstate. She will play for the Spartans while studying biology in the hopes of becoming a physician’s assistant.

“They were amazing,” Lamonde said. “I fell in love with it when I visited. The campus. The coaches. The culture. There’s a great bond there.”

That kind of camaraderie has been the force behind South Fayette’s success.

“The chemistry we have on the team is amazing. The coaching staff and the players are so supportive. It’s a great environment.

“When you have so much talent on a team there’s bound to be times where there is some bickering and disagreements, but we always hack it out. We communicate so well and fix problems quickly. All together we come up with the best solutions.

“In the end, it’s all about winning,” Lamonde continued. “When you have great people surrounding you and have a good support system, you can accomplish anything.”

Haylie Lamonde

Info box

Who is she: South Fayette senior guard who recently scored her 1,000th career point in basketball.

Age: 17

Birthday: March 16

Parents: Laura and Shawn

Sibling: Nico

Pet: Luna. “She’s an English bulldog. A little chunky because she likes to lay around and cuddle. We try to get her to walk but she gets tired.”

GPA: 3.8

College choice: University of South Carolina-Upstate

Major: Biology

Career: Physician’s assistant

Athlete: Michael Jordan

Musical artist: Rod Wave

Color: Black. “I feel like it goes with everything.”

Food: Steak. “My dad makes them really good. I also like Mac & Cheese.”

Books or television: I don’t read much but I love Netflix. One Tree Hill. Gilmore Girls. Vampire Diaries. They’re some of my favorites.”

TikTok or Instagram: TikTok. “I’d rather watch videos than scroll and look at pictures.”

Winter Olympics or Super Bowl: “We are big football people so we were excited to watch the Super Bowl.”

With whom would you like to have dinner: “My grandmother, Ellie Lamonde. She passed away a few years ago, but she was a big role model for me and the family.”

Life lesson sports has taught you: Keep a level head. There are always going to be ups and down so you have to stay true to yourself and listen to what your heart tells you.