If South Fayette was one thing, it was as advertised.
The WPIAL-champion Lions, with their five Division I prospects, length and postseason experience, overcame a slow start to sprint past Penn-Trafford, 58-38, in the second round of the PIAA Class 5A girls basketball playoffs on Wednesday night at Peters Township’s AHN Arena.
The defending state champion Lions (27-1) advance to play Baldwin (23-5) in the quarterfinals Saturday. Baldwin beat Indiana, 51-45.
“South Fayette, they have a great team,” Penn-Trafford coach Chuck Fontana said. “They play hard, and they play the right way. I respect that and the things they are doing.”
Penn-Trafford (21-7) was in the game early, but once the Lions began to limit 3-point attempts and create offense in transition, it became a one-sided contest.
“Our girls play hard; they are conditioned,” Lions coach Bryan Bennett said. “We had a two-and-a-half hour practice the other day because the girls wanted to. Being in shape helps us based on the style we play.”
Ryan Oldaker (15 points), Haylie Lamonde (12) and Lailah Wright (10) all scored in double figures for South Fayette.
The Lions flexed their college-level muscles. Oldaker is a Marist commit, Lamonde is headed to USC Upstate and Wright has Division I offers.
“The first quarter and into the second quarter, I thought we got some good looks,” Fontana said. “We started to get downhill.
“In the third quarter, we got a little out of control and made some mistakes.”
South Fayette scored the first seven points of the second quarter, and kept the Warriors away from the 3-point stripe, to build a 28-15 lead at halftime.
Penn-Trafford had 10 first-half turnovers and had trouble getting position on the Lions around the basket.
“Our goal was to run them off the line,” Bennett said. “We saw on film they shoot about as many 2s and they do 3s. We wanted to force them to drive it on us. We did a good job with their penetration.”
Oldaker had a series of putbacks to stretch the margin to 13.
“One of the big things about our girls is unselfishness,” Bennett said.
Wright gave the Lions a 13-7 lead after one quarter when she beat the buzzer with a 3 from the top of the key.
“That was a big 3. It killed us,” Fontana said.
Raya Johnson led Penn-Trafford with nine points, while Torrie DeStefano and Izzie Fontana had six each.
Penn-Trafford has had quite a two-year run. The Warriors are 46-9 with back-to-back state playoff trips.
“The girls gave it their all,” Fontana said. “They left it all out on the court. Their firepower got us. That is a solid team.”