South Fayette dethrones 4-time champs to win program’s 1st state title
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Saturday, March 29, 2025 | 7:44 PM
The South Faytte girls basketball team celebrates after defeating Archbishop Wood in the PIAA Class 5A state championship game on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at Giant Center in Hershey.
South Fayette’s Juliette Leroux celebrates with teammates after defeating Archbishop Wood in the PIAA Class 5A state championship game on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at Giant Center in Hershey.
South Fayette’s Haylie Lamonde celebrates with Juliette Leroux as time expires in the PIAA Class 5A state championship game against Archbishop Wood on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at Giant Center in Hershey.
South Fayette’s Ryan Oldaker takes the court during player introductions before the PIAA Class 5A state championship game against Archbishop Wood on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at Giant Center in Hershey.
South Fayette’s Ryan Oldaker celebrates after a Lions’ basket during the PIAA Class 5A championship game against Archbishop Wood on Saturday at Giant Center in Hershey.
South Fayette’s Ryan Oldaker celebrates with Haylie Lamonde after Lamonde scored during the PIAA Class 5A state championship game against Archbishop Wood on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at Giant Center in Hershey.
South Fayette’s Juliette Leroux is pressured by Archbishop Wood’s Sophia Topakas during the PIAA Class 5A championship game Saturday at Giant Center in Hershey.
South Fayette’s Cierra Rexrode scores against Archbishop Wood’s Makayla Finnegan during the PIAA Class 5A state championship game on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at Giant Center in Hershey.
The South Fayettee bench celebrates a 3-pointer against Archbishop Wood during the PIAA Class 5A state championship game on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at Giant Center in Hershey.
South Fayette’s Ryan Oldaker grabs a loose ball in front of Archbishop Wood’s Emily Knouse during the PIAA Class 5A state championship game on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at Giant Center in Hershey.
South Fayette’s Cierra Rexrode battles Archbishop Wood’s Emma Seckinger for a loose ball during the PIAA Class 5A state championship game on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at Giant Center in Hershey.
South Fayette’s Lailah Wright defends against Archbishop Wood’s Ryan Carter during the PIAA Class 5A state championship game on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at Giant Center in Hershey.
South Fayette head coach Bryan Bennett hugs his daughter, Adeline, after defeating Archbishop Wood in the PIAA Class 5A state championship game on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at Giant Center in Hershey.
South Fayette seniors Alexa Ankrum (13) and Cierra Rexrode celebrate with their gold medals and the state championship trophy after defeating Archbishop Wood in the PIAA Class 5A final on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at Giant Center in Hershey.
The South Faytte girls basketball team celebrates with the state championship trophy after defeating Archbishop Wood in the PIAA Class 5A final on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at Giant Center in Hershey.
HERSHEY — Archbishop Wood’s reign is over.
South Fayette finished off a postseason run juniors Juliette Leroux and Ryan Oldaker dubbed their “revenge tour” by toppling the Philadelphia Catholic League power in a 45-37 victory Saturday in the PIAA Class 5A final at Giant Center.
Archbishop Wood (22-8) had won a PIAA title four years in a row and nine times overall, including a victory vs. South Fayette in the 2023 finals when Leroux and Oldaker were freshmen.
Hence their revenge tour.
“Everyone thought Archbishop Wood was going to win,” said Leroux, who scored a team-high 15 points. “They’ve been here for like the past 16 years. But we knew this year that we were stronger overall. We’re a team and we ended up winning.”
The state title was the first for South Fayette (29-2).
To earn it, though, the Lions had to solve an Archbishop Wood program that had won the past two PIAA Class 5A titles after winning 4A crowns in 2022 and ’21.
“I think we shocked a lot of people. I don’t think we shocked ourselves,” South Fayette coach Bryan Bennett said. “We have a lot of talent, and we believe in ourselves.”
South Fayette lost 61-54 to Archbishop Wood when the team last visited Hershey in 2023.
“The fact that we lost, we wanted revenge,” said Oldaker, who scored 10 points. “Coming back here and getting our revenge chance against the same team was exactly what we wanted.”
South Fayette’s defense held Archbishop Wood without a basket for nearly 14 minutes in a stretch that included the entire third quarter. The Lions capitalized with a 17-3 run that put them ahead by double digits in the fourth quarter.
Archbishop Wood made just three free throws in the span.
“I thought offensively it wasn’t our day,” Archbishop Wood coach Mike McDonald said. “They’re a really good team. And from a defensive perspective, when we made mistakes, they capitalized and finished. We gave up too many layups.”
Archbishop Wood sophomore Ryan Carter scored 23 of her team’s 37 points, but the highly acclaimed sophomore was limited after injuring her left knee in the second half.
Carter missed nearly four minutes of the third quarter and wasn’t as effective after she returned to the court. South Fayette led 30-22 when she left.
The 6-foot guard made 11 of 26 shots, grabbed seven rebounds and had four steals. ESPN had ranked her as the eighth-best sophomore prospect nationally.
“That’s not the kid you want to see go down,” McDonald said. “Not that you want to see any kid go down, but from our offensive standpoint, that’s not the one.”
The South Fayette run started with a go-ahead layup by Leroux just before halftime to lead 23-22. When Oldaker capped the run with a 3-pointer in the fourth, the Lions led 39-25 with 6:50 left
But largely they’d build their lead two points at a time.
South Fayette shot 56% from the field while attempting only four 3-pointers. The Lions made 18 of 32 shots from inside the arc and scored 36 points in the paint.
“We have a lot of talented kids who like to shoot the ball outside,” Bennett said. “I think we average around 18 3s a game, but we said take what’s available. For as talented as they are on film, we thought we could expose them on some screening action.”
Leroux and Oldaker said their “revenge tour” started with a victory over Peters Township in the state semifinals. That was the team that defeated South Fayette in the WPIAL finals late last month.
But the loss to Archbishop Wood was still on their minds.
“It just fueled our anger,” Leroux said. “Our revenge tour.”
Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.
Tags: South Fayette
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