After injury, Oldaker shining on the court for South Fayette
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
By Jerin Steele
Staff writer
jsteele@observer-reporter.com
In the days leading up to South Fayette’s state playoff basketball game against Oakland Catholic last season, Ryan Oldaker was cleared to return from a severe knee injury.
Once Oldaker got to practice, Lions coach Bryan Bennett saw a player that looked like she had never left.
“In that one game that she got to participate in and a few practices it looked like she hadn’t missed a beat with the injury,” Bennett said.
That’s certainly continued into this season.
Now back in the starting lineup and fully healthy, Oldaker has been a standout for the three-time defending WPIAL champion Lions.
She has been in double-digits in all but one game and had 23 points against Altoona in the season opener. She hasn’t looked back since getting cleared to play.
“I was so excited, because I wanted to be back on the court playing with my best friends,” Oldaker said. “I worked so hard over the summer, because that knee injury really brought me down.”
Not playing for the majority of last season was tough for Oldaker, but one positive she said was getting to see the game in a different way and being able to study it from the bench.
“It was super eye-opening to be on the bench,” Oldaker said. “I kind of felt like another coach there. It really brought up my IQ seeing the floor differently from the bench. It’s a different point of view.”
If she felt like another coach on the bench, it might be because she has a coach in her household.
Not only does Oldaker get guidance from a three-time WPIAL champion in Bennett, but her mother, Dori Oldaker, was a longtime basketball coach at Mt. Lebanon where she won three state titles and four WPIAL championships.
“Honestly, she’s my inspiration and I want to follow in her footsteps with how successful she’s been,” Oldaker said about her mother.
Bennett lauded Oldaker’s work ethic and what she puts into practice.
That determination is part of why it’s been a smooth transition post-injury.
“She has been outstanding for us in all facets of the game,” Bennett said. Both offensively and defensively. I don’t think she gets enough credit for her defense. Her leadership has been outstanding this season. We have several younger players in our rotation. They look to her and she’s a calming influence for them.”
Oldaker played meaningful minutes as a freshman and her leadership stems from those moments. She credited former South Fayette standouts Maddie Webber and Ava Leroux with helping her in tough moments and now that she’s in their position is giving that knowledge to her friends and teammates.
“It was really hard coming into how fast-paced a game South Fayette played being 13 or 14 years old,” Oldaker said. “I learned from the seniors and now I try to pass that to the younger kids. They’re such good players and we need them on the court.”
The Lions were 6-0 overall and 2-0 in Class 5A, Section 3 play entering a game against Montour on Thursday.
They’ve scored 61 points per game, which is the most in Class 5A and allowed only 31 points per game, which is tied with Thomas Jefferson for the fewest.
They seem to be in form and hope to continue to improve as they look to forge another path to the WPIAL finals.
“I’m so excited for what’s to come,” Oldaker said. “Last year we ended on a hard loss before in the state playoffs but it was a really good season. We have a lot of young, great kids coming up and hopefully we can keep the tradition of winning.”