2023 WPIAL Class 5A girls basketball championship breakdown: South Fayette vs. Oakland Catholic

By: Bill Hartlep
Friday, March 3, 2023 | 4:09 PM

WPIAL Class 5A girls basketball championship

No. 1 South Fayette vs. No. 2 Oakland Catholic

5 p.m. Saturday, Petersen Events Center

On the air: Video livestream: TribHSSN.TribLive.com

WPIAL titles: South Fayette 2 (2016, ‘22); Oakland Catholic 6 (1999, 2000, ‘01, ‘02, ‘05, ‘06)

South Fayette (23-2)

Coach: Bryan Bennett

Projected starting lineup

No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos.

2, Ava Leroux, 6-3, sr., F

11, Lainey Yater, 5-4, jr., G

25, Rachel Black, 5-7, sr., G/F

32, Erica Hall, 5-11, jr., G/F

34, Maddie Webber, 5-11, sr., G

Notable: South Fayette captured the WPIAL title last season with a 57-48 victory over Chartiers Valley. The Lions are led by Villanova recruit Maddie Webber (17 ppg) and Elon-bound forward Ava Leroux. Both had 14 points in a 68-25 win over Woodland Hills in the semifinals. Webber was nominated for the prestigious McDonald’s All-American game. The Lions, who won the Section 4 title at 10-0, have relied heavily on defense this season, allowing just 37 points per game, best in Class 5A. Their lone losses came against Class 6A Norwin and St. Thomas Aquinas (N.J.) at a holiday tournament in Delaware. The Lions have won 17 straight games, including dominant playoff wins over Plum, Penn-Trafford and Woodland Hills, outscoring those opponents 210-103.

Oakland Catholic (22-3)

Coach: Eddie Benton Jr.

Projected starting lineup

No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos.

11, Rachel Haver, 5-7, sr., G

15, London Creach, 5-8, so. F

22, Alexa Washington, 5-7, sr., G

23, Halena Hill, 5-7, sr., G

31, Jill Gallo, 6-0, sr., F

Notable: Oakland Catholic is looking for its first WPIAL title since 2006. North Florida recruit Alexa Washington (16 ppg) leads the scoring for the Eagles. She scored 26 points in a 58-51 semifinal win over McKeesport. Forward Jill Gallo added 13 points, and guard Rachel Haver had 10. The Eagles reached the WPIAL quarterfinals and PIAA second round last season. Oakland Catholic won the Section 3 title at 12-0. The Eagles feature a high-scoring attack that has averaged 64.6 points, tops in Class 5A. Their lone loss to a WPIAL team was in the regular-season finale against North Catholic.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: Oakland Catholic, South Fayette