O-R Athlete of the Week: Haylie Lamonde, South Fayette
Name: Haylie Lamonde
Grade: Senior
School: South Fayette
Sport: Basketball
Lamonde’s week: With it being Senior Night, last Monday’s game with Chartiers Valley was already special, but getting to 1,000 points was the cherry on top for Lamonde.
She only needed two points to hit the milestone and got it early when she was left open on an inbounds pass for an uncontested basket.
Lamonde finished with 15 points to help defending Class 5A state champion South Fayette finish off a perfect section record.
She joined her good friend Juliette Leroux as the second Lion to reach 1,000 points this season and the fifth one in South Fayette history.
“It feels great, especially when there’s two of us in the program that’s done so in just a few weeks apart,” Lamonde said. “Being the fifth girl in South Fayette history to do it is a great accomplishment. It was so exciting. My team and my coaching staff and the entire South Fayette community showed great support for me. Juliette and I have been friends for a long time, so to do it the same year was really cool.
“My whole team came out and celebrated with me and then my parents and my brother were able to come out on the court and take some pictures. It was great.”
Lamonde joined a growing list of 1,000 point scorers in the area. Waynesburg’s Dane Woods and Beth-Center’s Violet Trump also reached 1,000 points last week.
Playoff mode: The Lions were rewarded with the top seed in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs, which begin Friday with a home game against No. 16 Kiski. Lamonde (USC Upstate) is part of a starting five that all have either signed with a Division I team or have Division I college offers. She’s one of three seniors alongside Leroux (Florida Atlantic) and Ryan Oldaker (Marist).
“All the talent we have on this team is such a blessing,” Lamonde said. “The amazing coaching staff we have around us is honestly great and I’m hoping we can avenge our loss (in the WPIAL final) last year and just continue to make our way and win out from here on.”
Heading south: Lamonde found her college home in Spartanburg, South Carolina, but that journey began in Erie. Current USC Upstate assistant coach Molly Glick started recruiting Lamonde when she was an assistant at Mercyhurst and continued to stay in touch once she moved on.
“She started talking to me my sophomore year and she’s great,” Lamonde said. “She’s almost like a best friend to me in a way and that’s a great feeling to have, because you don’t find that a lot of places. The head coach Jason Williams saw me a few times in AAU and I went on a visit and just loved it. I loved the culture and South Carolina is warm, so I just fell in love with it as soon as I stepped on campus.”
Finding time to recharge: When Lamonde gets some free time, one of her favorite things to do is relax and watch some shows on Netflix. Her favorites are One Tree Hill and Gilmore Girls.
“I love watching Netflix, but a lot of the time during the season I don’t get a lot of down time,” Lamonde said. “Sunday nights are probably my favorite night of the week, because I get to just relax and watch some shows.”
Complied by Jerin Steele