Hazelwood West High Girls Baskeball Players can Hoop

With a total of six seniors on this year's roster, thel girl's basketball team is setting its sights on a Class 5, District 5 championship.

"We've got a lot of kids back, so senior leadership is going to be big for us," Hazelwood West head coach Jim Fleming said. "We were 17-9 last year, so that should prove to be a good predictor as to how we'll do this season."

The Wildcats won eight of their last 10 games during the 2009 regular season, before losing to Hazelwood Central, 65-51, in the semifinals of the Missouri Class 5, District 5 tournament.

"The thing about this year's team is that they know what it takes in order to be successful, that's for sure," Fleming said. "Last season we finished pretty strong and the kids want to show that they can go a little bit further (into the playoffs) this year."

Senior point guard Shakaunna Oliver-Futrell returns as the Wildcats' leading scoring threat after averaging 13.5 points a game last season. Oliver-Futrell also led Hazelwood West with 90 assists and 85 steals, while also racking up 2.2 rebounds a game.

"Shakaunna was a first team all-Suburban North Conference selection last year and led us in a lot of categories," Fleming said. "She played a lot of ball this summer and I believe that her shot comes in with a lot more confidence and she's handling the ball really well this season."

Another solid scoring threat for Hazelwood West this season is junior guard Mia Williams, who averaged eight points per game during the 2009-10 campaign. Williams can be a threat on the outside shot for the Wildcats as she racked up a total of 27 three-pointers.

"Mia's a streaky shooter that has an excellent outside shot," Fleming said. "But the one thing about her this season is that she's got a different kind of fire in her that I just haven't seen before. I think that she's going to be a much better player both offensively and defensively this year."

Senior guard Araka Norwood should also factor into the Wildcats scoring mix after averaging 6.3 points and 2.9 rebounds a game as a junior. Norwood also recorded a total of 77 steals and 57 assists last season.

"Araka is actually one of the best defensive players that we have on the team," Fleming said. "She's exceptionally fast, is one of the easiest players to coach and can fill just about any void at the guard position."

Taking on the center position this season is 6-3 senior Chanel Gwynn-Williams. Last year Gwynn-Williams managed 6.1 points and 7.9 rebounds a game while leading the Wildcats with a total of 27 blocked shots.

"Chanel's a big kid that's definitely going to be our presence at the post position," Fleming said. "She's got really long arms and has turned into a good shot blocker for us."

Senior Andrea Sherod and sophomore Alexis Robinson should both see time at forward this season.

"Andrea is an extremely aggressive defender and is really going to have to help fill out a lot at the No. 4 position this year," Fleming said. "Alexis on the other hand played some minutes with us at the end of the last year and I think she's going to be a pretty good No. 4 for us this season."

Another senior to keep an eye on this season is Ausset Culberson at the guard position. Culberson did not play last season, but as a sophomore, she averaged 8.8 points and 3.1 rebounds a game on the varsity squad.

"Ausset is definitely going to be a defensive machine for us with a lot of speed," Fleming said. "She's very aggressive and athletic and we welcome her back."

Seniors Drianna Richardson and Arianna Harris along with junior forward/guard Amber Hogue will come off the bench for the Wildcats this season.

"Drianna and Arianna know their roles on the team and understand what they bring to the team," Fleming said. "Amber was a strong leader on the junior varsity team the last two years and in a lot of programs, she would be a starter. The thing I like about Amber is that she's a very smart player that's always in the right spot at the right time."

The Wildcats opened the season on Tuesday at Ft. Zumwalt West to a loss, falling to the Jaguars, 69-33.