Mar 20, 2025 By Jerin Steele 5 min read

South Fayette coach Bryan Bennett figured that if his team reached the state semifinals, they’d see Peters Township again.

Indians coach Steve Limberiou came to the same conclusion about South Fayette.

The last time they squared off, it was for the WPIAL Class 5A girls basketball championship and the rematch will decide who represents the western side of the state in Hershey next weekend.

Part II between the Lions (27-2) and Indians (26-3) is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at Canon-McMillan.

Peters Township won the WPIAL final, 40-36, Feb. 28. It is South Fayette’s only loss to a team from Pennsylvania all season.

“They beat us, so I’ll put them as the top team in the state right now,” Bennett said. “They’re so talented and looking at the bracket, I knew Erie Cathedral Prep was down a little with some injuries and I’m sure they weren’t happy seeing (Thomas Jefferson) in the second round, but yeah I was fairly confident that if we were fortunate to get this far that this would be the matchup.”

If South Fayette wins, it’ll be a second trip to the state championship in three years. The Indians are seeking their first state finals appearance since 2019, when they won their first and only title.

The first meeting was a defensive battle that featured a fourth quarter comeback by the Indians. It was one of the lowest scoring games for both teams this season.

Both coaches were satisfied with their defensive efforts, but will look for crisper offensive possessions in the rematch.

“When you go back and watch that tape, which I have in great detail, offensively it was a really rough outing from us until the fourth quarter,” Limberiou said. “I’m not going to act like that’s all our fault, because their defense had a lot to do with that, but we need to be better. We need to turn the ball over less, execute what’s called more and throw a couple new wrinkles in there that hopefully work better this game and at the same time be prepared for adjustments that they make.”

For South Fayette the challenge is countering Peters Township’s size advantage. The Indians have two 6-foot-3 players in the starting lineup Miami (Fla.) recruit Natalie Wetzel and Daniela Radulovich, who Limberiou has called his “Playoff MVP” on multiple occasions.

“The last time Peters did a great job defensively,” Bennett said. “Wetzel and Radulovich’s size really affected us on drives. They had a couple of blocked shots, and we weren’t used to that size. Another thing looking back on it, having both the college and high school three-point line on the floor affected us too. We took a lot of deep threes, and we normally don’t take shots from that far out. Being in a high school gym on Saturday, hopefully we take some better shots and figure out a way to drive the ball a little better and not let their size impact us as much.”

Not only does the Indians’ size make life difficult on defense, but it poses problems trying to defend them. Many teams have doubled Wetzel and Radulovich has come up big on those occasions. A good example was in the second-round contest against Thomas Jefferson. The Indians trailed for most of the second half, but Radulovich made four shots, mostly in a soft spot of the defense near the foul line, to help spur a 57-53 comeback win.

“I do think Daniela is the key,” Bennett said. “They have a lot of talent, but it seems like most teams double off of her and let her beat them. Against TJ, she hit a lot of big shots to win that game. I don’t know if there’s a right way to defend them, but we’re going to try and do our best. Natalie is such a tough player to defend, because she can score in a variety of ways. Hopefully our athleticism will kind of counteract their size and make an impact on the game Saturday.”

Since the WPIAL final loss South Fayette has three victories by double digits, including a 70-52 win over Hollidaysburg in the quarterfinals. Juliette Leroux has scored 20 or more points in the last two games and Lailah Wright has set the tone as the point guard.

Using their speed and athleticism to score quickly has been a hallmark for the Lions.

“I don’t think it’s overly secretive, but you can’t give them 20 or 30 points from them stealing the ball and scoring layups in transition,” Limberiou said. “It starts with Lailah Wright, because she’s a terrific defender. You have to protect the ball and not give them easy run outs. We did a pretty decent job of that in the first game. They probably didn’t convert as much as they wanted to in transition. Defensively you have to be physical in the halfcourt, but you have to take away the easy points.”