Lady Raiders look to be competitive in new section
Four of Uniontown's starters entering the 2022-23 season were (from left) Jersey Greer, Emily Myers, Aziriah Wilson and A'kira Dade.
Uniontown seniors are (from left) Jersey Greer, Aliyah Saunders and Aziriah Wilson.
Penny Kezmarsky (right) enters her sixth year as Uniontown girls basketball coach and will again be assisted by Michelle Sevcik.
A'kira Dade scans the defense during a Uniontown practice.
Aziriah Wilson attempts a shot as Aliyah Saunders defends during a Uniontown practice.
Emily Myers jumps out to defend a shot during a Uniontown practice.
Uniontown assistant coach Michelle Sevcik passes the ball as she helps run a drill during practice.
Uniontown鈥檚 girls basketball team has dropped down one classification this season but still will be seeing some familiar faces as Penny Kezmarsky enters her sixth year as coach.
鈥淚 feel like I鈥檝e got my feet under me now but every year is different,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淵ou never know what鈥檚 going to happen. It鈥檚 a new section. It鈥檚 our first year in 4A, down from 5A, so that鈥檒l be interesting to see.
鈥淚 looked at it and we actually had a chance to play some of those teams last year, like Belle Vernon. They鈥檙e usually pretty fast. LH and Ringgold dropped down with us so those two we鈥檙e familiar with. We haven鈥檛 played West Mifflin in a couple years and Southmoreland always has a pretty good program.聽It鈥檒l be interesting to see.鈥�
Kezmarsky had four of the Lady Raiders鈥� starting positions set before the season began.
Kezmarsky discussed her top four players.
鈥淛ersey Greer is coming back, a senior who鈥檚 faster than when she left last year so that鈥檚 good to see,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淛ersey can shoot the ball really well. I鈥檓 looking to get some 3s out of her.
鈥淎ziriah Wilson is a senior who is our big girl underneath. She鈥檚 a force to be reckoned with under the basket.
鈥淓mily Myers is a sophomore who鈥檚 put in the work all summer long and is also a force as a forward-center underneath. I鈥檓 really looking forward to seeing her continued growth.
鈥淎鈥檏ira Dade is a junior who鈥檚 back as our point guard. She鈥檚 been working on her ball handling all offseason and also working on her strength in the weight room and really looking to improver her game.鈥�
Junior Geelece Ingram had the inside track for the fifth starting job.
鈥淕eelece is up for it. She鈥檚 really working hard,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淪he really improved in the offseason as well. Right now she鈥檇 be the frontrunner for that fifth spot.
鈥淒isaya Craggette is a sophomore who鈥檚 been very impressive in practice. And Mkinli Baker definitely will be in the rotation as well.鈥�
The Lady Raiders entered the season with a 13-player roster.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a little smaller than our roster has been in past years but it鈥檚 a solid 13,鈥� said Kezmarsky, who feels she has a good mix of speed and strength.
鈥淚鈥檓 hoping to get a lot of points from our bigs underneath, Emily cleaning up jump shots from the outside and Aziriah moving people out of the way for a lot of easy put-backs. This year we have a lot of speed, too, so I鈥檓 hoping to utilize that in getting the girls up and down the floor as quick as possible.鈥�
Uniontown has always been known as a tough defensively team under Kezmarsky and this year is no different.
鈥淲e like man-to-man but I like to mix it up, change it throughout the game to maybe surprise people,鈥� Kezmarsky said.
Michelle Sevcik returns as Kezmarsky鈥檚 assistant coach.
鈥淲e try to keep the same routine so the girls are familiar with how we coach and what we expect from them,鈥� Kezmarsky said.
The Lady Raiders opened section play on Dec. 15 with a home game against Laurel Highlands.