South Fayette played even early, outscored Archbishop wood in the second half but the Vikings’ controlled a seven-minute stretch of the first half and parlayed that into their eighth girls basketball state championship, downing the Lions, 61-54. Wood led by two at the under-four break in the first quarter. 6:24 later, the District 12 champs had run out by 16, what proved to be their biggest lead of the game. Erica Hall and Ryan Oldaker did all the could to keep South Fayette within striking distance, scoring all 12 of the Lions’ second-quarter points, going to the locker room down, 37-24. The teams traded 11 points apiece in the third and Wood slowed the game down, taking time off the clock on each possession. After the media time-out with 3:37 to play, South Fayette pressed Wood into several turnovers, cutting the deficit to five points, but could get no closer.
Hall led South Fayette with 17 points. Delaney Finnegan, a lockdown defender for Wood, held the Lions’ leading scorer, Maddie Webber, to just 11 points, the final three coming at the end of the game. Ava Leroux had 10 points for the WPIAL champions. Point guard Ava Renninger’s dribble drive gave the Lions defense trouble all she. The junior finished with a game-high 21 points. Deja Evans had 17, Kara Meredith add 13 including a trio of three-pointers.
Wood has now won three straight state titles, capturing the 4A top spot in 2021 & 2022. Their eight championships and three title game losses have all come since 2010. PIAA Brackets