Lady Raiders face tough road in Class 5A
Uniontown’s girls basketball team showed improvement last season, upping its overall record from 4-17 to 8-13.
Another jump in wins seems unlikely this season after the Lady Raiders were bumped from Class 4A up to Class 5A and dropped into a very strong Section 4.
“We’re going back to 5A so we’ve got a lot of work to put in and get ready to play basketball,” eighth-year coach Penny Kezmarsky said of the move up. “TJ, Baldwin, Trinity, Peters Township, Bethel Park … we’re obviously facing some good teams and have some long bus rides. We do have one local rival. AG is in our section so we’ll be playing them twice.”
Peters Township, Bethel Park and Baldwin were all 6A teams a year ago.
“Numbers are numbers I guess,” Kezmarsky said on the enrollment cut-offs. “We started in 5A when we took this position. We went to 4A for two years and now we’re back to 5A. We’ve been here before so we know the basketball we’re getting into. I just have to make them realize 4A and 5A, there’s a big difference. What can you do? We’ll get ready and prepare for those games.”
The Lady Raiders might have a tough task ahead but Kezmarsky likes her roster.
“We have a good group of girls, some who’ve been with us for four years and are seniors now.”
Uniontown has three seniors, including captains Emily Myers and Mkinli Baker.
“They’re a good combination as leaders,” Kezmarsky said. “Emily is very vocal. Mkinli is sort of a lead-by-example girl and she kind of keeps everybody straight and in the right place. They work well together.
“We have a third senior who hasn’t played the last two years but we’re glad she came back this year and that’s Disaya Craggette.”
The two senior captains will play in the frontcourt in the Lady Raiders’ starting lineup..
“Emily is our center, Mkinli will be the four,” Kezmarsky said. “We’re looking at a freshman point guard, Charley Murtha, who’s going to have to learn fast. Our other starters are Lyric McLee, a junior, who plays the two and Tessa Nicholson, a sophomore who’s a transfer from Rockwood, will be the three.”
Each of the starting five brings something different to the table, according to Kezmarsky.
“Emily is our tallest player and has come a long way with her post moves,” she said. “Mkinli is a rebounder. The ball can be on the other side of the basket and somehow she gets over there and gets it. We’re going to trust Charley to handle the basketball and get up the floor for us. Lyric is a great defender and Tessa is a good all-around player who can do a little bit of everything.
“Disaya will be our first girl off the bench and she’s also almost interchangeable with Lyric for that two guard position. Rae Robinson is another freshman who is going to get a lot of minutes. She’s the daughter of (former Red Raiders star) Ray Robinson. Kaleeya Tyler is a sophomore who helps out at the point guard position, too, off the bench.”
Kezmarsky, who again will be assisted by Michelle Sevcik, knows what to expect when her team gets into section play.
“We’re really getting ready, preparing to break presses because we anticipate a lot of pressing,” Kezmarsky said. “We’re going to try to get to the fastbreak to not give anybody a second to get anything set up, so just get the ball and go. We’re also working on conditioning because we’ve got to be in shape to be able to keep up with the teams in our section.”
Uniontown, in a rarity, opened the season with a section game, falling to Thomas Jefferson, then split two games at Brownsville’s Falcon Fest, losing to Chartiers-Houston but defeating Bentworth in a 1-2 start.
While Albert Gallatin is in their section, the Lady Raiders don’t have Laurel Highlands or Connellsville on their schedule.
“This is the first year since I’ve been here that we’re not going to be playing Laurel Highlands,” Kezmarsky said. “We do have a few other local teams. We will be playing in the Carmichaels tournament at Christmas.”
The Lady Raiders also have non-section games in January at California (Jan. 8) and at home against Ringgold (Jan. 15) and Brownsville (Jan. 22).