South Fayette earns gritty win over McKeesport, trip to Class 5A finals
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Tuesday, March 1, 2022 | 9:09 PM
South Fayette’s Maddie Webber celebrates as time expires in the Lions’ WPIAL Class 5A semifinal against McKeesport on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
The South Fayette girls basketball team celebrates after defeating McKeesport, 51-48, in a WPIAL Class 5A semifinal on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
South Fayette’s Maddie Webber shoots a 3-pointer against McKeesport during a WPIAL Class 5A semifinal on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
South Fayette’s Ava Leroux battles McKeesport’s Avionna Menifee for a loose ball during their WPIAL Class 5A semifinal on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
South Fayette defenders pressure McKeesport’s Madeline Cherepko during their WPIAL Class 5A semifinal on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
South Fayette’s Erica Hall battles McKeesport defenders for a loose ball during their WPIAL Class 5A semifinal on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
The South fayette student section cheers on the Lady Lions during a WPIAL Class 5A semifinal against McKeesport on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
South Fayette’s Erica Hall scores against McKeesport during a WPIAL Class 5A semifinal on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
South Fayette’s Maddie Webber scores over McKeesport’s Kaylee Charles during their WPIAL Class 5A semifinal on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
South Fayette’s Maddie Webber hugs Giuliana Gaetano after defeating McKeesport in their WPIAL Class 5A semifinal on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at North Allegheny High School.
It was a battle of wills and gritty plays in the final eight minutes of the WPIAL Class 5A girls basketball semifinal between McKeesport and South Fayette on Tuesday night.
Despite holding a 22-17 scoring edge in the fourth quarter, the No. 6 seed ran out of time and ran out of last second shots as the Tigers fell to the Lions, 51-48, at North Allegheny.
South Fayette (21-4) will play in its third championship game since 2015. The Lions will meet No. 1 seed and section rival Chartiers Valley, which soundly defeated Moon, 57-35, in the other semifinal. The finals will be at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Petersen Events Center.
“It’s special to get to the finals,” South Fayette coach Bryan Bennett said. “Most high school athletes don’t get to experience playing in a title game. It was a very emotional, tight game and we knew McKeesport was going to give everything they had. I’m elated for the girls.”
McKeesport (20-5) was looking for its first trip to the finals since 1998. The loss also snapped a nine-game winning streak, as its last defeat was to South Fayette on Jan. 19 in nonsection action at home.
“We had our chances tonight,” McKeesport coach Amy Gumbert said. “We struggled at the foul line all night and we needed to play better lockdown defense at the end. South Fayette is a really good team. Our kids were down by 10 late, but they never folded. They kept on fighting to the last whistle. They played hard and I’m super proud of them.”
South Fayette’s Maddie Webber led all scorers with 25 points. The junior guard made five 3-pointers and collected 11 points in the fourth quarter. Ava Leroux battled foul trouble throughout the night and scored all 11 of her points in the first half.
For McKeesport, Rachel Manfredo had a monster game with 23 points, 15 of which came in the final 16 minutes of play. Brooke Evans recorded nine points in the loss.
“Rachel is fearless,” Gumbert said. “She stepped up her game tonight and was near unstoppable in the second half. Hats off to Brooke, too. She was able to drive and feed Rachel the ball on the inside. They both played great.”
South Fayette held a 34-26 lead going into the fourth and the Lions pushed their advantage to 40-30 after a trey from Rachel Black with 5:34 left in regulation.
McKeesport responded with the next seven points via a free throw by Evans and its first two 3-pointers of the game made by Maddie Cherepko and Madison Miller to make it 42-39.
Webber collected the next four points for the Lions, while Manfredo compiled the next five points for the Tigers. A pair of foul shots by SF’s Lainey Yater extended the No. 2 seed’s lead to 48-44 with 1:50 left in the fourth.
After Miller notched a mid-range jumper to make it 48-46, Webber made 2 of 4 shots at the charity stripe to make it 50-46 with 25 seconds left in the final frame.
Evans got fouled on her drive and made two free throws to once again make it a one-possession game, 50-48, with 17 seconds left. McKeesport had its struggles at the foul line in the first three quarters, making 4 of 15, but went 5 for 6 at the line in the fourth.
After South Fayette only made one of its next three foul shots, McKeesport still had one more shot to hit another miracle shot with less than a second left. But the Tigers couldn’t inbound the ball cleanly and didn’t have time to jack up a final, game-tying shot.
“I held my breath until the final buzzer rung,” Bennett said. “McKeesport has a lot of kids that can shoot, and on defense, they make it tough on you. They were physical the whole night, bumping our girls as they were making their cuts. Our kids never had a letdown and I thought Maddie was just unbelievable in the second half. We executed our plays and got points.”
Trailing 5-2 in the opening stages of the game, the Tigers pounced back into the game with a 6-0 run and then took an 11-10 lead after a bucket by Evans and a free throw from Madison Hertzler. The Lions regrouped and Leroux hit two foul shots to give SF a 12-11 lead at the end of one.
After a hoop by Manfredo opened the scoring in the second stanza, the Lions tallied the next nine points to push their lead to 21-13. The Tigers rallied late, scoring the final five points of the first half and trailed 21-18 at halftime.
Manfredo registered six of McKeesport’s eight points in the third quarter, but South Fayette garnered separation late in the period with an 8-2 spree to take an eight-point lead into the fourth.
Despite the semifinal loss, the Tigers’ season isn’t over as they will compete in the first round of the PIAA playoffs next Wednesday.
“Our season is not over,” Gumbert said. “We are going to take tomorrow off and then get back to practice. We have got to clean some things up on the defensive end and execute better with our shot selection. This team is still a young team, but they have plenty of fight to give.”
Tags: McKeesport, South Fayette
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