South Fayette answers challenge from Oakland Catholic to repeat as WPIAL Class 5A champs

By: Andrew John
Saturday, March 4, 2023 | 6:45 PM

5970466_web1_ptr-WPIALgirls5A02-030523 — Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review

The South Fayette girls basketball team celebrates after defeating Oakland Catholic in the WPIAL Class 4A championship game on Saturday, March 4, 2023, at Petersen Events Center.

5970466_web1_ptr-WPIALgirls5A04-030523 — Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review

South Fayette’s Maddie Webber scores past Oakland Catholic’s Rachel Haver during the WPIAL Class 5A championship game on Saturday, March 4, 2023, at Petersen Events Center.

5970466_web1_ptr-WPIALgirls5A01-030523 — Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review

South Fayette’s Erica Hall drives past Oakland Catholic’s London Creach during the WPIAL Class 5A championship game on Saturday, March 4, 2023, at Petersen Events Center.

5970466_web1_ptr-WPIALgirls5A03-030523 — Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review

The South Fayette girls basketball team celebrates with the WPIAL championship trophy after defeating Oakland Catholic in Class 5A final on Saturday, March 4, 2023, at Petersen Events Center.

On its way to the WPIAL Class 5A girls basketball championship game, South Fayette had dominated its opponents. It wasn’t exactly the same in a matchup against Oakland Catholic on Saturday.

After being down at halftime, No. 1 South Fayette needed a third-quarter surge to move past No. 2 Oakland Catholic on their way to a 64-49 victory to repeat as WPIAL Class 5A girls basketball champions at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center.

The Lions were led by senior forward Ava Leroux, who finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds.

With the game tied at 29-29 in the third quarter, South Fayette went on a 10-4 run to close out the quarter. Leroux, an Elon recruit, had two big buckets during the run, including a turnaround jumper off a South Fayette miss that forced Oakland Catholic to call timeout with 2:13 remaining in the third.

Senior guard Maddie Webber, a Villanova recruit, got into early foul trouble and had to sit the last 9:47 of the first half. The Lions held their largest lead of the game, 11-5, when Webber had to take a seat on the bench.

When Webber was on the floor, South Fayette outscored Oakland Catholic by 23 points. When she was on the bench, the Eagles outscored the Lions by eight points.

Oakland Catholic senior guard Alexa Washington scored 11 points in the first half to lead the Eagles into the locker room with a 25-23 lead. Washington finished with 16 points.

The Lions, who have three WPIAL titles in program history, defeated Chartiers Valley, 57-48, in last year’s WPIAL title game.

This story will be updated.

Watch an archived broadcast of this game on Trib HSSN.