South Fayette got off to a slow start in its PIAA quarterfinal game against Baldwin. However, after a close first half, the Lions eventually turned up the intensity and ran away with a win to advance to the state semifinals.
“I thought (our ball movement and spacing) were poor the (against Baldwin),” South Fayette coach Bryan Bennett said.
“Not sure why. I just didn’t think we came mentally ready to play. So one of those games that, you know, they’re high school kids, and they’re not always going to be there, but I think that was a wakeup call for us, and maybe we needed that. (The) way they responded today, I’m very pleased.”
The Lions’ response Tuesday night was a dominant, wire-to-wire 67-24 win over Peters Township to advance to their second straight PIAA title game.
With the win, South Fayette improves to 29-1 and will make its third state title game appearance in the last four years.
“We’re ecstatic to be back,” Bennett said. “I mean, it’s a special, special feeling when you get to go to play for a state championship. It’s unlike anything else. Just the way we played today and came out and were so disciplined on both ends of the floor with the little details of the game plan.
“And just played every possession almost like it was our last, which is something we didn’t do against Baldwin, which in the first half was really disappointing. But so proud of the kids – how they responded today and bounced back and showed the team we really are.”
At the end of the first quarter, South Fayette built a 14-5 lead with eight points coming from senior Ryan Oldaker. She finished the game with 13.
“The main thing to our wins are coming out strong,” Oldaker said. “I feel like whenever we don’t come out strong, like against Trinity (in the WPIAL quarterfinals), we had a really rough start to the game and basically a really rough finish.”
In that District 7 quarterfinal game, the Lions scored only 26 points, well below their season average of 69. On Tuesday night, they surpassed that total by the 2:35 mark of the second quarter after Haylie Lamonde made a 3-pointer. Lamonde, a senior guard, scored 10 of her 14 points in the first half. South Fayette’s offense began to pick up in the second quarter, but it was the defense that ultimately widened the lead.
After Taylor McCullough hit a 3-pointer to trim Peters Township’s deficit to 18-10, South Fayette closed the final five minutes of the half on a 16-3 run. The Lions held the Indians to 5-of-27 shooting and took a 34-13 lead into the locker room.
“The first thing we do in practice is defense,” senior Juliette Leroux said. “We literally work on it probably for half of the practice. So I feel like it really shows in game.”
Lamonde added, “When we’re communicating really well, like tonight, I mean, we can switch everything. So it’s nice, because a lot of teams can’t do that.”
To start the second half, the Lions’ defense continued to fuel their offense, as they opened the third on a 13-0 run. Bri Morreale ended the run on a fast-break layup with 3:28 left in the quarter, but the damage was already done. After being held scoreless for 6:32 of game time, Peters Township trailed 47-13.
By the end of the third, the Lions led 57-16 after Ella Vierra, who finished with a game-high 19 points, scored a layup.
McCullough led Peters Township with 11 points, which saw its season end at 18-12 and at the hands of South Fayette for the second straight year in the PIAA semifinals.
South Fayette will now prepare for a state title rematch against Archbishop Wood on Saturday at the Giant Center in Hershey. The Lions defeated the Vikings, 45-37, last year.