2025 WPIAL Class 5A girls basketball championship breakdown: South Fayette vs. Peters Township

By: Bill Hartlep
Thursday, February 27, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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WPIAL Class 5A girls basketball championship

No. 1 South Fayette vs. No. 2 Peters Township

7 p.m. Friday, Petersen Events Center

On the air: Video livestream: NFHS Network; Audio: Trib HSSN

WPIAL titles: South Fayette 4 (2024, ‘23, ‘22, ‘16); Peters Township 1 (2019)

South Fayette (24-1)

Coach: Bryan Bennett

Projected starting lineup

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

1, Lailah Wright, 5-7, So., G

3, Haylie Lamonde, 5-8, Jr., G

4, Cierra Rexrode, 5-10, Sr., G

14, Juliette Leroux, 5-11, Jr., G/F

24, Ryan Oldaker, 5-11, Jr., G

How they got here: South Fayette defeated No. 16 Greensburg Salem, 57-30, in the first round; No. 9 Baldwin, 67-31, in the quarterfinals; and No. 13 Mars, 67-32, in the semifinals.

Notable: South Fayette is seeking a WPIAL championship four-peat. The Lions defeated Armstrong in the finals 70-63 last season behind Juliette Leroux’s 18 points and 17 each from Haylie Lamonde and Erica Hall, who graduated. Leroux and Lamonde have again been catalysts for the Lions, along with junior guard Ryan Oldaker. All three were first-team all-section selections after leading the Lions to the Section 3 title with a 12-0 record. Oldaker, the daughter of longtime Blackhawk and Mt. Lebanon coach Dori Oldaker, was named the section’s player of the year. Bryan Bennett was the section’s coach of the year. Their lone loss was to St. Mary’s, N.Y., at the Tampa Bay Invitational. South Fayette averages 62.1 ppg and allows 35 ppg, second best in Class 5A behind Shaler (34.5).

Peters Township (22-3)

Coach: Steve Limberiou

Projected starting lineup

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

2, Bri Morreale, 5-6, Jr., G

14, Natalie Wetzel, 6-3, Sr., F

21, Jordyn Welsh, 5-10, Fr., G/F

24, Taylor McCullough, 5-6, Fr., G

44, Daniela Radulovich, 6-3, Sr., F

How they got here: Peters Township beat No. 15 Fox Chapel, 66-58, in the first round; No. 7 Indiana, 51-32, in the quarterfinals; and No. 6 Thomas Jefferson, 46-43, in the semifinals.

Notable: The Indians dropped down from Class 6A this season after reaching the WPIAL semifinals and PIAA second round last season and have found plenty of success. They won the Section 4 title at 12-0. Their lone losses were to 6A Mt. Lebanon in the regular-season finale and two Ohio teams — Strongsville and Olentangy. The Indians average 57.4 points and allow just 40.3. Natalie Wetzel, an all-state selection as a junior, committed to Miami in July and averages nearly 20 ppg. She has been battling an injury during the playoffs. She is ranked the No. 79 player in the nation by ESPN W. Wetzel and junior guard Bri Morreale were first-team all-section selections, with Wetzel being named player of the year. Coach Steve Limberiou was the section coach of the year. Freshmen Taylor McCullough and Jordyn Welsh already have Division I offers.

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: Peters Township, South Fayette