HERSHEY — Of the six WPIAL teams that played for PIAA titles this week, none might have been as big of an underdog as South Fayette, which faced an Archbishop Wood team that had won four consecutive titles.
But when it comes to defending, it was South Fayette, and not the four-time defending champs, that made the best use of the word Saturday at Giant Center.
South Fayette claimed its first PIAA title, holding Archbishop Wood without a field goal in the third quarter and limiting the Vikings to 30% shooting in the game on its way to a 45-37 win in the Class 5A girls basketball final.
“I’m just completely in shock. I just keep repeating, ‘We literally made history.’ It’s insane,” said South Fayette junior Juju Leroux, who scored a team-high 15 points.
Leroux was far from being the only person in shock. Archbishop Wood (22-8) had won 24 consecutive PIAA games and its nine titles (all since 2010) are more than any other team. The Philadelphia Catholic League power was trying to become the first team to win five consecutive PIAA titles, but a school from suburban Pittsburgh put an end to those hopes.
While the margin of victory might have surprised him a bit, South Fayette coach Bryan Bennett said he wasn’t shocked that his Lions (29-2) came out on top. This is a team that dominated foes all season before losing a close game to Peters Township in the WPIAL final. The Lions avenged that loss in the PIAA semifinals, paving the way for them to make history Saturday in the championship.
“I think we shocked a lot of people. I don’t think we shocked ourselves,” Bennett said. “We have a lot of talent and we believe in ourselves. We’re going to have multiple kids play at the Division I or Division II level. They work so hard. Our team chemistry is just absolutely unbelievable, which has been a big key to our success of the last few years.”
Defense was the story in this game, specifically for South Fayette. The Lions, who gave up only 35.5 points per game this season, held Archbishop Wood to a season low in points. The Vikings shot just 16 of 53 from the field (30%), including 2 of 12 from 3-point range. Ryan Carter, a 6-foot guard considered one of the nation’s top sophomores, poured in 23 points on 11-of-26 shooting, while Emily Knouse, a 6-foot guard headed to play at Saint Joseph’s, scored 10 on 3-of-11 shooting. But no other Archbishop Wood player scored more than 2 points.
“We play our defense. That’s what we always do,” said South Fayette junior Ryan Oldaker, who finished with 10 points. “We play our defense hard. These girls are great players, but we came out strong. We knew they could shoot. We knew they could score. But let them get a little loose and not let them get those baskets.”
Oldaker and Leroux saw time when South Fayette lost to Archbishop Wood, 61-54, in the 2023 final. Until Saturday, that had been the Lions’ only other appearance in the championship.
Leroux’s bucket in the final seconds of the second quarter gave South Fayette a 23-22 halftime advantage. The Lions limited Archbishop Wood to 10-of-34 shooting in the opening half, but were plagued by miscues as they turned it over 11 times.
“Just keep the energy up. We have the momentum. We were so excited to be here. Just keep it up and keep playing,” Oldaker said of the message Bennett relayed to the team at the half.
You could say that the third quarter is when the championship was won. The Lions outscored Archbishop Wood, 13-2, to take a 36-24 lead to the fourth. Leroux (6) and Oldaker (4) combined to score 10 points in the quarter, one in which Archbishop Wood went 0 of 7 from the field and scored its only 2 points on two free throws midway through the frame.
In all, South Fayette held Archbishop Wood without a field goal for more than 14 minutes, a span that lasted from the 3:58 mark of the second quarter until there was 5:34 left in the fourth. The Vikings drew no closer than 8 in the final quarter.
Offensively, South Fayette was outstanding and ultra-efficient, shooting 55% from the field (20 of 36). The Lions made only two 3-pointers, and instead relied heavily on their halfcourt offense to generate plenty of points in the paint, an area where they held a 36-22 advantage. Haylie Lamonde added 8 points and Cierra Rexrode 6.
“It’s a special group,” Bennett said. “At the beginning of the season, I didn’t envision this. I thought we had a chance at a district title. I didn’t know about a state. After losing to Peters in the WPIAL [championship], I didn’t know how we would respond. But our kids were so focused and disciplined. Right now I’m still a little bit of shock. But in a couple of hours it’s going to set in, and I couldn’t be more proud of this group of kids.”
So, what does a team do to celebrate their first state championship?
As they say, when in Rome. Or in this case, when in Hershey.
“Drink some chocolate milk!” Leroux exclaimed.
Added Oldaker, “Go get some milk! Get some Hershey bars!”
PIAA Championship scoreboard
BOYS
Class 6A: Father Judge 71, Roman Catholic 60
Class 5A: Neumann-Goretti 85, Hershey 71
Class 4A: Devon Prep 55, Berks Catholic 39
Class 3A: West Catholic 60, South Allegheny 51
Class 2A: Linville Hill Christian 55, Sewickley Academy 54
Class 1A: Neighborhood Academy 60, Sankofa Freedom 51
GIRLS
Class 6A: Perkiomen Valley 58, Upper St. Clair 27
Class 5A: South Fayette 45, Archbishop Wood 37
Class 4A: Neumann-Goretti 48, Lansdale Catholic 45
Class 3A: Loyalsock Township 55, Shady Side Academy 43
Class 2A: Berlin Brothersvalley 62, Bishop McCort 50
Class 1A: Bishop Guilfoyle 53, Linville Hill Christian 34
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.