The South Fayette girls have never played in a basketball state championship game. That will remain fact until Saturday night when the Lions take on District 12 champion Archbishop Wood for the 5A state title. South Fayette got 24 points from Maddie Webber, 14 more from Ava Leroux and held off Oakland Catholic late in the game to get the 58-54 win. The Lions were 10-of-11 at the foul line including Leroux’s 4-for-4 performance in the final period, sealing the win with a pair with just eight seconds to play.
South Fayette sprinted to leads of 8-0, 15-7 and 19-10 in the opening quarter. Oakland Catholic responded with runs of 8-2 and 10-4 to pull within two at halftime, and after three quarters. Oakland Catholic, which never led in the game, pulled even for the first (and only) time with 4:18 to play on Jill Gallo bucket in close. Following the under-4 time out, Leroux hit two free throws, Lainey Yater added two more with 1:06 to play. Oakland Catholic got another bucket from Gallo and two points from Rachel Haver to pull within 56-54 with 13 seconds to play. Leroux’s two makes on a 1-and-1 set the game’s final margin. The Lions will ride a 22-game win streak into the final against Archbishop Wood, making an 11th title game appearance, all since 2010. PIAA Brackets
Saturday, March 25, State Championship Game
5A Girls South Fayette vs. Archbishop Wood, 5:45 pm at Giant Center, Hershey, WJPA-FM (95.3) Listen Here