Lions roar: Third time a charm for South Fayette
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Some of the players from the South Fayette girls’ basketball team mug for the cameras as the savor the gold medals they captured by defeating Chartiers Valley, 57-48, in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game.
South Fayette defeated Chartiers Valley, 57-48, to capture the WPIAL Class 5A girls' basketball championship title. The team is pictured here with their gold medals and championship trophy.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
South Fayette players jump up and down for joy after receiving their gold medals for beating Chartiers Valley, 57-48, in the championship game.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Maddie Webber hugs the WPIAL championship trophy while her South Fayette teammates celebrate a 57-48 victory over Chartiers Valley last season.
By Eleanor Bailey/Almanac Sports Editor/ebailey@thealmanac.net
Lainey Yater (11) makes her move to the basket as Hallie Cowan (4) attempts to keep up. Yater scored 10 points to help South Fayette beat Chartiers Valley, 57-48, in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game.
By Eleanor Bailey/Almanac Sports Editor/ebailey@thealmanac.net
Maddie Webber receives a congratulatory hug from a teammate after South Fayette defeated Chartiers Valley, 57-48, to capture the WPIAL Class 5A girls’ basketball title. Webber scored 17 points in the triumph.
Raven Mozick (20), Alex Toth (10), Alexa Ankrum (40), Taylor Oldaker (12) and Ainsley Burns (24) celebrate after South Fayette's scored a critical basket during its 57-48 victory against Chartiers Valley in the WPIAL championship game.
Ava Leroux (2), Rachel Black (25), Julianna Rossi (1), Jessica Burns (21), Cami Feltz (31) and Sydney Burns anxiously await a shot to drop in South Fayette's favor during WPIAL championship action. Leroux scored 11 points for the Lions in a 57-48 win against Chartiers Valley.
South Fayette's Maddie Webber keeps her eyes on the basket as she drives past Hallie Cowan (4) of Chartiers Valley. Webber scored 17 points to lead the Lions to victory against the Colts, 57-48, in the WPIAL Class 5A girls' championship game.
Erica Hall (32) of South Fayette takes the ball to the basket against the defense of Perri Page (11) of Chartiers Valley. Hall scored 10 points to help the Lions to victory, 57-48. Page exploded for 27 points in a losing effort.
By Eleanor Bailey/Almanac Sports Editor/ebailey@thealmanac.net
South Fayette’s Maddie Webber (34) puts up a shot despite the defensive efforts of Hallie Cowan of Chartiers Valley. Webber scored 17 points in the Lions’ 57-48 win against the Colts in the WPIAL Class 5A finals.
Lainey Yater attempts to get rid of the ball but is fouled by Perri Page during WPIAL championship action. Yater scored 10 points to help South Fayette upend Chartiers Valley, 57-48, in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game. Page scored 27 points for the Lions.
PITTSBURGH – It takes a lot to knock a king or queen off their throne.
There aren’t a lot of high school basketball programs – boys or girls – that have done it better than Chartiers Valley over the past 30 years, and there aren’t a lot of WPIAL coaches in any sport that have won as much as the Colts’ Tim McConnell.
In 25 seasons as the Colts’ head boys basketball coach, McConnell won six WPIAL championships.
In almost four full seasons on the girls side, he’s won three, and most expected him to win his 10th overall title Saturday against South Fayette at the Peterson Events Center.
But South Fayette knows Chartiers Valley, having played the Colts twice in the regular season. The Lions lost both of those meetings, but in the third and most important one, South Fayette came out the victor, 57-48, in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game Saturday at the Petersen Events Center.
In the losses to Chartiers Valley (24-2), the Lions (22-4) were outscored by a combined 33-12 in the first quarter and ended up losing both games by a combined nine points.
South Fayette coach Bryan Bennett knew his team had to make a statement early.
“We knew we had to deliver the first blow tonight, and I’m so proud of these kids,” Bennett said. “They came out, and they were the aggressor tonight.”
For Chartiers Valley, the reason for the defeat was simple.
“I thought they played harder than us,” McConnell said. “I thought they wanted it more than us.”
“They wanted it more,” said Chartiers Valley’s Perri Page, who finished with a game-high 27 points.
Pitt recruit Aislin Malcolm added 15 points for Chartiers Valley.
The rest of CV’s roster combined for six points.
For South Fayette’s Maddie Webber, this defensive effort resulted from winning the rebounding battle, which South Fayette did, 36-19, and outhustling the Colts.
“We went after every loose ball,” she said. “It was ours. Every single one.”
South Fayette didn’t make a statement right away, trailing 12-11 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, however, the Lions took command and went into halftime up 31-25.
Chartiers Valley never got off the canvas. In the second half, the Lions continued to have the upper hand, and Bennett took advantage of his team’s ability to spread the floor, as well as the lack of a shot clock in WPIAL basketball.
“We’ve done this several times this year,” Bennett said. “We’re capable of spreading the floor. We have great ball handlers who can take care of it. So we knew that they were going to (double team) us, and we had to spread it out. (We were) fortunate to make plays and foul shots at the end.”
Although McConnell said South Fayette was the better team and earned what it got, he also believes that teams holding the ball for extended periods is something that needs to go away in high school basketball.
“They got a lead on us, and then they played real patient. That’s the exact reason why high school basketball needs a shot clock.”
Overall, the night was everything Maddie Webber and her teammates hoped it’d be, and then some.
“I don’t know if I expected it, but I knew there was a chance,” said Webber, who led South Fayette with 17 points and added a team-high nine rebounds. “I knew, if we just played hard, we would win. Because we had something to prove to everyone.”
Ava Leroux finished with 11 points and eight rebounds for South Fayette. Lainey Yater and Erica Hall – both sophomores – added an even 10.
With two sophomores and two juniors starting, not many expected the youthful Lions’ time to come just yet, what with Chartiers Valley having five seniors who have a combined 15 WPIAL championships between them.
Maddie Webber’s sister Mia – the lone senior in the starting lineup – didn’t worry about her younger teammates.
“Even though they’re younger, they’re still experienced,” Mia Webber said. “And they just took it to (Chartiers Valley) tonight. They didn’t care that they were younger and CV is older than them. They just played as hard as they could.”
South Fayette did a favor for Trinity. The Lions’ win put the Hillers into the state tournament as the seventh-place team from the WPIAL. Maddie Webber didn’t feel many were expecting South Fayette to be a threat in 5A, let alone win a district championship.
Now, here they are, with a first-place medal and state title dreams still in play.
“I know at the beginning of the season, we weren’t looked at as an opponent or a threat to anyone,” she said. “I think being the underdog helped us win and makes it 10 times better.”