Feb 14, 2025 4 min read

By Joe Smeltzer

For the Observer-Reporter

newsroom@observer-reporter.com

McDONALD – As expected, South Fayette rolled in its first-round girls basketball playoff matchup against Greensburg Salem Friday night, and it got help from both the frontcourt and backcourt in a 57-30 win.

In the frontcourt, Juliette Leroux scored 15 points.

In the backcourt, Hailey Lamonde led all scorers with 19.

Overall, it was a good night for top-seeded South Fayette (22-1) in that it moved on in the postseason.

But it could have been better.

“I’m happy to advance,” coach Bryan Bennett said. “The playoffs are a different animal. We had some young kids out there that this is their first playoff experience, and it definitely showed. We didn’t play our best basketball. I give credit to Greensburg. They did some things to slow the pace of the game down and they handled the ball a lot better than we expected. It’s a learning experience for our kids that there are no nights off in the playoffs and we have to come ready to play. I didn’t think our focus was there tonight.”

Lamonde agreed with her coach.

“I just don’t think we were in the right headspace,” she said. “I mean, yeah, we’re the No. 1 seed, but we can’t take that for granted. Everyone is going to try and beat us. Everyone’s going to come out with their best effort, and I just don’t think we were mentally ready tonight.”

It’s a relatively young South Fayette team compared to the past three, which all won WPIAL titles.

There’s only one senior starting, which means younger players such as Lamonde and LeRoux – whose nickname is “JuJu” – are two of the elder statesmen as juniors.

Bennett is pleased with how they’ve performed all season.

“They’ve been outstanding,” he said. “They can score in a variety of ways. They’ve worked so hard in the offseason. Last year, Hailey was just known for her three-point shooting. She worked hard to be an all-around scorer this year. It shows she’s able to get to the basket. JuJu, same thing. Crafty, super athletic. That’s why she has multiple Division I offers. So, they’re just two talented kids who work hard and do good things for us.”

A problem that could cost South Fayette in the future is free-throw shooting.

The Lions were 6-for-16, which frustrated Bennett, especially since the team was making its free throws during the season.

“We’ve really been focusing on it in practice. We did a team drill yesterday and we (shot) 84 percent as a team. Just uncharacteristic. I think it was nerves. We just didn’t play well, and I think the kids started to press because we weren’t playing well and that probably had something to do with the foul shooting, especially at the end. We missed five or six at the end that I think we’ll make (in the future). We have talented kids that can make (them).”

The game got off to a slow start, with the teams only managing one field goal each in the first three minutes. South Fayette picked it up offensively after that but Greensburg Salem (13-10) hung around. At the end of the first quarter, South Fayette led 13-7.

South Fayette started to pull away in the second quarter, only allowing two points in the first four minutes and building a 13-point lead. That lead eventually grew to 17. By halftime, South Fayette led by 18.

It only got worse from there.

South Fayette led by 27 at the end of the third quarter and, yeah, the outcome was pretty much decided.

The Lions will play Wednesday night at a time and site to be determined against No. 9 seed Baldwin.

Bennett believes many would like to see South Fayette be dethroned.

“No one wants to see us win this year, and we’re going to get everyone’s best effort,’ Bennett said. “(The effort) is going to be even more in the playoffs to knock us out, so we have to come mentally and physically ready to play.”