LADY VIKINGS LOOK FOR CONSISTENCY IN 2023-24

All-League Hazelwood Leads Smoky Valley

By Staff

LINDSBORG – Last season was a bit of a roller coaster for the Smoky Valley girls basketball team as they won some big games and struggled in others before finishing 11-10 on the season and sixth place in the Central Kansas League.

The good news is, the Lady Vikings did not lose anybody off that team and return five seniors and three juniors who all gained plenty of quality playing time.

“We had a roller coaster kind of season as we had such a strong first game that we had belief that the season would something special,” pointed out Lady Viking head coach Jason Drouillard. “Unfortunately, consistency was our Achilles heel. After a great win in Clay Center, which is always a tough place to play, we struggled keeping momentum in our favor.”

Drouillard begins his third season at the helm of the program and so far as a record of 26-17.

The 2023-24 team will be built around three-year starter Adrian Hazelwood, a five-foot-eight-point guard. Last season as a junior, Hazelwood made good on 15 points, seven rebounds and two steals per game while making first-team all-league.

(Adrian Hazelwood)

Speaking of Hazelwood, coach Drouillard noted, “Adrian (Hazelwood) is a big piece to this program. The team will go as she goes. I challenged her to look to score more as she tends to facilitate more than we would like so she needs to focus on flat out being scorer this season.”

The Lady Vikings will have four seniors, three juniors and a pair of sophomores to put with Hazelwood. The returning seniors are Eva Malm, Clara McElroy, Breanne Peters and Tinley Scott, while the juniors are Katja Blanchat, Sophia Fruits and Nevaeh Spitler plus sophomores Hope Schrag and Trista Spitler.

(Eva Malm)

“We are searching for strong leadership to set the tone for the upcoming season,” continued coach Drouillard. “I like what we have returning and it’s certainly a strength that we did not lose anyone to graduation. I felt like not having seniors last year hurt us in terms of leadership. We certainly have a lot of strengths with this team, especially in speed and athleticism. Breanne (Peters), Clara (McElroy), Sophia (Fruits), and Katja (Blanchat) are defensive nightmares for opponent offenses as they each have great speed, athleticism and agility.”

The Lady Vikings will open the 2023-24 season on Friday, December 1 with a road trip to Abilene before returning home on Tuesday, December 5 for the home opener against Southeast of Saline.

Coach Drouillard concluded his pre-season reflections by saying, “We would like to win the league, win the Sterling Tournament in January, and then win our sub-state bracket and compete at state. Defense needs to be a strength of ours as one of our weaknesses is a lack of size. Katja (Blanchat) is our tallest player at six-foot, so it is important we maximize what we get out of the girls defensively. I would say defense is the number one focus for me as the coach while our motto for this season is ‘expect to win’.”

SMOKY VALLEY LADY VIKING BASKETBALL

2023-24 SEASON PREVIEW

COACH INFORMATION >

Head Coach > Jason Drouillard – 3rd Season, 26-17 overall record.

Assistant Coach(s) > Kelsie Anderson and Kimi Lindshield

TEAM INFORMATION >

2022-23 Season – finished 11-10, 6th in the Central Kansas League.

LADY VIKING PLAYER INFORMATION >

Key Losses to Graduations/Transfers > 0

Key Returnee(s) >

Adrian Hazelwood > 5’8” sr. – averaged 15.00 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals per game: 1st team All- CKL.

Lady Viking Roster >

Seniors > Adrian Hazelwood, 5’8” G; Eva Malm, 5’6” G; Clara McElroy, 5’7” G; Breanne Peters, 5’7” G; Tinley Scott, 5’8” G.

Juniors > Katja Blanchat, 6’0” P; Sophia Fruits, 5’5” G; Nevaeh Spitler, 5’9” P.

Sophomores > Hope Schrag, 5’10” P; Trista Spitler, 5’9” W.

2023-24 LADY VIKING SCHEDULE >

Friday, December 1 > at Abilene

Tuesday, December 5 > hosting Southeast of Saline

Friday, December 8 > at Concordia

Tuesday, December 12 > hosting Hesston

Friday, December 15 > at Halstead

Tuesday, January 2 > hosting Hoisington

Tuesday, January 9 > hosting Hillsboro

Friday, January 12 > at Larned

Monday, January 15 to Saturday, January 20 > at Sterling Tournament

Tuesday, January 23 > at Hutchinson Trinity

Friday, January 26 > host Clay Center

Tuesday, January 30 > at Lyons

Friday, February 2 > host Nickerson

Tuesday, February 6 > at Hoisington

Friday, February 9 > hosting Haven

Tuesday, February 13 > at Pratt

Friday, February 16 > at Hesston

Tuesday, February 20 > hosting Halstead (Senior Night)

Monday, February 26 to Saturday, March 2 > at Class 3A Sub-State – TBD

Wednesday, March 6 to Saturday, March 9 > at Class 3A State Tournament in Hutchinson

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