Lady Raiders finally have depth, experience
Three of the Lady Raiders' top players this season are (from left) Aziriah Wilson, Akira Dade and Summer Hawk.
Uniontown's head coach Penny Kezmarsky (left) is assisted by Michelle Sevcik again this season.
Uniontown's Ava Hair puts up a shot in the lane during practice.
Uniontown's Akira Dade takes a jump shot during practice.
Aziriah Wilson defends Summer Hawk during Uniontown girls basketball practice.
Penny Kezmarsky looked around her and noted the abundance of players her Uniontown girls basketball team had at practice.
鈥淲hen we started this we didn鈥檛 have nearly enough girls and we struggled,鈥� Kezmarsky said as she prepared for her fifth year as Lady Raiders head coach. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have a JV team. I was cancelling JV seasons.
鈥淣ow we had 18 girls come out, which is huge for us. The program is growing and people are buying into it. They鈥檙e coming in the offseason. I tell them that鈥檚 when you decide if you鈥檙e going to win in the regular season or not. That鈥檚 when you鈥檝e got to put the work in.鈥�
Uniontown also has some experience and talent among those increased numbers.
鈥淚 was just telling my assistant coach (Michelle Sevcik) I feel like every year I say 鈥榳e鈥檙e young, we鈥檙e young, we鈥檙e young.鈥� We鈥檙e finally not young anymore,鈥� Kezmarsky said.
鈥淲e have three seniors coming back, Summer Hawk, Sophia Friend and Dana Vansickle, that have been with us all four years. We have a huge group of juniors that have really matured and are ready to play. So our outlook is very good.鈥�
Kezmarsky鈥檚 squad went 3-17, including a playoff loss, during the COVID-19 marred 2020-21 season.
鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to get back to normal,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淲e got to play summer league this year. We got to do offseason work which was a big issue last year when we came in cold and not really gelling as well. This year there are no excuses. We鈥檙e ready to win some games.鈥�
Kezmarsky has four of her starting five locked in so far.
鈥淪ummer is going to be one to watch for us for sure,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淪he was a captain last year as a junior and I foresee her being a captain again this year. Summer will definitely be our starting four (forward).
鈥淎ziriah Wilson is a junior who will be our starting center. She鈥檚 as strong as anybody. Those two for sure will be underneath the hoop. We have a transfer junior this year, Ava Hair, who we鈥檙e excited to get on the floor. She鈥檒l be our three guard. Akira Dade will be one of our guards. She鈥檚 got great quickness and speed.
鈥淭hat fifth spot is still up in the air. Dana, Mya Harris, Aliyah Saunders and Jersey Greer are all in the running for that. The other girls have to keep working hard, too, to keep them on our radar.鈥�
Kezmarsky is looking for Hawk and Dade to be her main scorers to go along with the Lady Raiders鈥� usual strong defense.
鈥淎kira has been working on her shot and her drive all year long and you can see it in practice,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淗er three ball has improved tremendously and her left hand is getting stronger. So I look for her to put up a lot more points.
鈥淪ame thing with Summer. We鈥檙e going to rely on Summer for a nice chunk of the offensive points. She鈥檚 come into her own as a senior.鈥�
Uniontown will use different defenses depending on their opponent.
鈥淲e like to mix it up,鈥� Kezmarsky explained. 鈥淵ears past we鈥檇 use a lot of zone defense but I think we have the speed this year to play more man. We have a lot of good guards. A lot of times we like to use a zone because some teams are so used to going against a man and sometimes that throws them off.鈥�
Offensively, Kezmarsky would like to see her team play a fast-paced game.
鈥淲e want to push the ball and not give defenses time to set up, especially with Akira,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淪he can get down the court fast and not many can keep up with her.鈥�
The Lady Raiders are again in Section 3-AAAAA.
鈥淲e have the two powerhouses in there with Trinity and Thomas Jefferson,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淥ur first section game is with Trinity so we鈥檒l see how good we are right off the bat.鈥�
Kezmarsky is happy to have a slate of games against Fayette County foes.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really nice that we鈥檙e able to play the locals, Laurel Highlands, AG, Connellsville, because a lot of these girls know each other and those are good rivalries,鈥� she said.
Kezmarsky recalled her playing days at Brownsville and rivalry games against Shawna Little, who played for and now is the coach at Connellsville.
鈥淚t鈥檚 funny, Shawna and I are good friends but I tell my girls I鈥檇 leave those Connellsville-Brownsville games with bruises on me from Shawna,鈥� Kezmarsky said with a laugh. 鈥淏ut we鈥檙e excited to see those schools.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking forward to the season.鈥�