South Fayette pulls away from Thomas Jefferson, regains WPIAL Class 5A title

By: Antonio Rossetti
Friday, February 27, 2026 | 8:50 PM

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South Fayette’s girls basketball team won its fourth WPIAL title in five years Friday night, defeating feisty Thomas Jefferson, 57-38, in the Class 5A championship game at Petersen Events Center.

The Lions used a 27-10 run in the game’s last 10 minutes to pull away. They racked up 21 fourth quarter points en route to their fifth WPIAL title in the last 10 years.

“I get to play with my best friends and I get to play for our great coaching staff,” South Fayette’s Ryan Oldaker said. “I feel like we’ve grown throughout all the years, and I feel like we’ve improved every single year, every single day, and I’m just proud of us and proud of what we’ve accomplished throughout the year.”

Haylie Lamonde, a South Carolina Upstate commit, delivered 19 points, including 13 in the first half. Florida Atlantic recruit Juliette “JuJu” Leroux posted 14 points and eight rebounds, and Laliah Wright tallied 14 points and seven rebounds for the Lions (25-1).

Ryan Oldaker, a Marist commit, added nine points and 11 rebounds.

“That’s a great basketball team,” TJ coach Matt Gould said. “They’re the best team in the state. They’ve got a 2,000-point scorer, probably the best defender around. I could sing their praises all night. That’s a really good team.

“They’ve got championship pedigree, five Division I starters. (Kenzie) Rumberger would be the best player on most teams from 1A through 4A. So you know you’re up against it. We knew the challenge coming in, and credit to them. They showed why they’re that good.”

While boasting a high-scoring offense that averaged 70 points per game, it was defense that led the Lions on Friday night.

South Fayette limited Thomas Jefferson to just four points in the fourth quarter. The Jaguars shot 35% from the field, and were held without a 3-pointer.

“I thought our communication was really good,” South Fayette coach Bryan Bennett said. “We switched one to five. We’re not afraid of mismatches because we have tough kids. They’re talented. They’re extremely athletic. They’re strong, they’re physical, and can guard all five spots on the floor. That really affects a lot of people. But our ball pressure, I thought, was really good tonight.”

The Lions held Thomas Jefferson standout Maggie Spell, a 2,000-point scorer, to nine points. Wright and the defense led the charge. Gould said Wright is the best defender in the WPIAL.

“Defense wins games,” Leroux said. “We spend half of practice working on defense. Coach Bennett is always emphasizing that, so we really need to focus on that side of the ball, especially in the second half. When the game was close after halftime, we locked in defensively, and I thought we were pretty successful.”

That defense turned into offense on the final run. The Lions shot 83% in the fourth quarter, and earned trips to the free throw line by getting into transition.

“Defense wins championships,” Lamonde said. “You can’t go on offense and you can’t produce on offense if you don’t get stops on defense, so we always have that mindset — that defense always first mindset — and then offense is a privilege. You have to play defense in order to even get the offense in the first place.”

It took some time for the Lions to pull away.

South Fayette led 30-23 halfway through the third quarter, but a Riley McCabe layup and an Emma Altavilla “and-one” layup taken into the teeth of the Lions’ defense cut it to 30-28.

After a timeout, South Fayette’s offense started rolling as the Lions scored six straight points to end the third, with Wright notching a layup as time expired to go ahead 36-28.

Wright opened the fourth quarter by drawing a foul and making both free throws to continue a championship clinching run.

After layups from Leroux, Lamonde and Oldaker, and three Oldaker free throws, the Lions found themselves up 47-32, capping off a 16-4 run.

“Our shot selection was really poor at that time,” Bennett said. “I thought we were pressing a little bit. They made that run. I thought we got a little bit tight. We had to settle down there. We’re veteran group. I’m very pleased with how they responded.

“They came out a little bit more relaxed. Defense locked in a little bit better, with better communication on the floor and then our shot selection picked up from that point, which was by far the difference in the ballgame.”

Riley McCabe led Thomas Jefferson with 10 points, and Alexandra Wilson added eight.

Lamonde sparked the Lions early with an 8-0 run to begin the game.

TJ responded with an 8-0 run of its own to tie it up, with McCabe going coast-to-coast for a layup capping off the run.

Lamonde knocked down a deep 3-pointer and a layup late in the first. Her nine first-quarter points was enough for a 15-9 Lions lead at the end of one.

Altavilla ended the Lions’ 11-1 run with a layup to make it 19-11.

Thomas Jefferson’s tough man-to-man defense and strong ball pressure was enough to contain South Fayette in the first half as they trailed 26-21.

“I’d do anything for these girls and anyone who wears a Jaguar uniform,” Gould said. “I’m proud of them every day. They buy in, they compete, they listen, we butt heads and we make up — that’s what makes a team special. This group has been incredible. You almost sit there and think, after a 23-2 season like this, how do you replicate something like that again? It feels almost impossible because of how special this year has been.”

South Fayette will return to action March 7 against the eighth-place finisher from District 3 in the opening round of the PIAA playoffs.

“It’s a privilege to be here as WPIAL champions, and we have to embrace this moment,” Bennett said. “We’re just fortunate to be three out of the last four winners. They need to enjoy this experience and enjoy this weekend and then on Monday or Tuesday, we’ll come back and refocus.

“This is a veteran team, so I have full confidence when I see them that this excitement will be over, but they need to enjoy this excitement.”

The Lions are the defending PIAA Class 5A champions after knocking off Archbishop Wood last season.

“I’m so proud of us and everything we’ve done over the years,” Oldaker said. “It’s really been incredible, and I just pray that we can keep it going throughout this state run. It’s definitely a huge privilege. It almost feels like a home-court advantage because we’ve been here since freshman year, so we know the atmosphere. I think we play really well under that pressure with everyone watching us.”

Thomas Jefferson (23-3) will play the District 3 seventh-place finisher.

“We started the season with three goals: win a section title, win a WPIAL championship and compete for a state title,” Gould said of the Jaguars. “We accomplished the first. We fell short on the second. But the third one is still out there. We’re not done. We’ll take a couple days off, come back Monday, and get ready for next Saturday.”

Tags: South Fayette, Thomas Jefferson