Mar 16, 2025 By Jerin Steele 4 min read

KITTANNING – Leading by 11 points going into the fourth quarter, South Fayette girls basketball coach Bryan Bennett decided to go to a stall offense.

It’s not a strategy the Lions deploy often, but you wouldn’t have known that with the way they executed down the stretch.

The Lions moved the ball around with crisp passes and forced a Hollidaysburg team that was already in foul trouble to foul more.

It kept the Golden Tigers at arm’s length and South Fayette closed out a 70-52 victory in the PIAA Class 5A quarterfinals Saturday at Armstrong High School.

“It showed that our kids are focused,” Bennett said about changing to a stall offense. “It’s the first time we’ve done it all year. We have things that we practice that we’ve never had to show, because of some of the outcomes we’ve had. That’s not an easy thing to do, hold the ball against a team as disciplined and well-coached as Hollidaysburg is.”

With the win, the Lions earned a trip to the state semifinals where they will have a rematch with Peters Township, 2 p.m. Saturday at Canon-McMillan. The Indians ended South Fayette’s three-year run as WPIAL champions with a 40-36 win in this year’s district final on March 1.

South Fayette led 53-42 after three quarters and then went into their holding pattern.

Two Hollidaysburg starters Clare Padamonsky and Makenna Weimert picked up their fourth foul before South Fayette took a shot. Hollidaysburg ended up with four starters having four fouls.

The Lions ran three minutes off the clock before Juliette Leroux scored the first basket of the fourth.

They outscored the Golden Tigers, 17-10, in the quarter and went seven of eight from the free throw line.

Leroux had a huge second half, scoring 19 of her game-high 21 points. She had eight points in the fourth quarter, taking advantage of some space from the Lions spreading out on the floor, to drive to the rim.

“Juju is just a tough matchup with her size,” Bennett said. “She has the ability to shoot outside, but when she gets inside she’s so crafty. “We were able to get some easy drives for her when we opened it up for her a little bit.”

Saturday’s game had its quirks, including a technical foul before it even started because Hollidaysburg brought the wrong uniforms. The Golden Tigers were the home team, so they were supposed to wear white, but had their road blues.

“I told the officials,” Hollidaysburg coach Deanna Jubeck said “It was on me. Probably about an hour before the game I told them. It happens. Mistakes happen. That wasn’t the difference between the win or loss.”

South Fayette brought both uniforms, so was able to wear white.

There wasn’t an opening tip. Instead, Haylie Lamonde went to the free throw line for the technical and sank both. Then South Fayette got the ball out of bounds.

The Lions (27-2) used the momentum to build a 19-8 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Hollidaysburg (25-4) responded with a strong second to get the deficit down to eight at halftime and Lauren Stevenson canned a 3-pointer out of the break to get to within five.

The Lions responded with an 8-2 run, including a three-pointer by Ryan Oldaker, which made it 42-31.

“They’re the full package,” Jubeck said of South Fayette. “They have tons of outside shooters. They have the inside game. They’re long. They’re lanky. They can rebound. They’re going to be a tough out for whoever they play.”

Leroux converted layups on consecutive possessions, to increase the lead to 49-36 and South Fayette led by double-digits the rest of the way.

Bennett was pleased with how his team responded to Hollidaysburg closing the gap early in the third and the poise his team showed closing the game out.

“We haven’t been tested a ton this year, but we’ve had enough games like this that the kids just don’t get rattled,” Bennett said. “I thought they did a good job with their shot selection. Our kids never put their heads down. We talk about the next play all the time. It’s part of life. Bad things are going to happen and teams are going to make runs. It’s about how you respond.”

Lamonde had 19 points, 11 in the first half, Lailah Wright scored 11 and Oldaker had 10.

Weimert led Hollidaysburg with 15 points and Bella Vent, an Indiana (Pa.) recruit, scored 14.