Showdown time: South Fayette, Peters Township girls meet in WPIAL championship
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Though the Peters Township and South Fayette girls basketball teams haven’t played each other this season, there’s plenty of familiarity within the programs.
Peters Township coach Steve Limberiou and South Fayette assistant Garrett Del Re played basketball together at Upper St. Clair in 2011.
At that time, Lions head coach Bryan Bennett was a teacher at Upper St. Clair.
“They are two of my best friends in the coaching business,” Limberiou said.
It’ll be a high-stakes reunion when the two teams take the court at Petersen Events Center, 7 p.m. tonight, for the WPIAL Class 5A championship.
South Fayette (24-1) is looking to win a fourth 5A title in a row, while Peters Township (22-3) will aim to end the streak by winning its first championship since 2019 and second overall.
The Lions’ current streak started with an upset of Chartiers Valley in 2021, ending its three-year run as champion. They have been rolling ever since and enter this year’s title game without a loss against WPIAL opponents.
“I’m fortunate to have been blessed with a great group of kids,” Bennett said. “I have great people around me. My assistant coaches do an amazing job. The administration at South Fayette has been so supportive. I’m one of the luckiest coaches in the WPIAL.”
The Lions boast an impressive group of sophomores and juniors as well as two seniors in Cierra Rexrode and Alexa Ankrum. Sophomore point guard Lailah Wright had a game-high 16 points in South Fayette’s 67-32 win over Mars in the semifinals Saturday. Juniors Juliette Leroux and Ryan Oldaker also scored in double figures.
“I have so much respect for them,” Limberiou said. “It’s very hard at a public school to do what they’ve done, winning three straight championships, but you know that’s what we want. If you want to win a championship you have to go through the best team.”
The last time Peters Township won a WPIAL title, future Penn State standout Makenna Marisa led the way. This year the Indians have another NCAA Division I recruit in Natalie Wetzel, who’s headed to Miami (Fla.).
Wetzel, who’s been playing with an ankle injury, scored 15 points in the 46-43 win over Thomas Jefferson in the semifinals Saturday. Daniela Radulovich added 13 points and freshman Taylor McCullough scored 12.
“Saturday was really the first time I saw them, briefly before our game,” Bennett said. “We hadn’t really looked ahead, but their size stands out. Natalie is a tall kid. We scrimmaged against them, not this year, but in the past, so we have a little bit of experience going against her. It looks like she’s developed a better outside shot based on what I saw (Saturday).
“It’s not just her. They have some talented guards. I know from the paper, I’ve seen multiple players put up double digits for them, so we’ll have a challenge on our hands.”
South Fayette has championship experience. The current group at Peters Township does not.
So, Limberiou said the focus for them in the week leading up to the championship, outside of game planning for South Fayette, is their mentality.
“I think the next challenge for us is not being happy and going down there just to see the gym,” Limberiou said. “We’re going down there to win and that needs to be the message. We have to go down there with the mindset to win and play aggressive.”