Pattonville Pirate Girls Basketball Season Comes To An End

TheLady Pirates season came to an end Thursday, as the team fell in district semifinal play against Hazelwood West in a game played at . 

The Pirates could not contain Mia Williams at her best, drilling home a career-high six three-pointers for a game-high 18 points to lead Hazelwood West to a 61-47 win over the Lady Pirates.

“She was on fire,” West head coach Jim Fleming said. “She’s a classic streaky shooter. When she gets going, she’s unbelievable. She’ll hit everything from back there.”

Williams didn’t hit everything Thursday night, but she was pretty doggone close, knocking down six-of-eight three-point attempts, and taking advantage of a sagging Pattonville defense, which was trying to clog the lane to prevent West guard, and 17 points a game, scorer Shakaunna Oliver-Futrell from penetrating and scoring.

“Mia was wide open all night,” Fleming said. “And she didn’t hesitate. She knew those shots were going in.”

Williams first three-point make tied the game in the second quarter, after Pattonville had taken a brief three point lead, following three straight three-pointers by juniors Kailey Utley and Mikala McGhee, and senior Ellicia Clark.

The teams traded buckets for the final two minutes of the first half, and West lead 27-25 at the break.

The second half though, began with a bang, as Williams drained three straight three-pointers of her own, in the first three minutes that, along with a Futrell-Oliver layup gave the Lady Wildcats a 38-25 lead.

From that point on, Hazelwood West was on cruise control, never leading by less than eight points, and building its lead to as many 18 points, following a final three from Williams, with just over a minute left, that put an exclamation point on the Lady Wildcats’ lopsided victory.

“They played well tonight and we didn’t,” Pattonville head coach Craig Gregory said. “They shot it well, and we didn’t. We had chances, we just couldn’t knock them down.”

Other than its three-point flurry midway through the second quarter, Pattonville’s best moment came just before the half, when Utley picked up a loose ball on a fastbreak, drove down the lane and faked out West’s Oliver-Futrell, for a bucket and three-point play that gave the Lady Pirates their biggest lead at 23-20.

Unfortunately for Pattonville, that was as good as it got, as the Lady Wildcats dominated the entire second half.

Oliver-Futrell also had 18 points for Hazelwood West (15-9), while teammates Chanel Gwynn-Williams (8 points, 17 rebounds, 5 blocked shots) and Alexis Robinson (9 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks) led the Lady Wildcat defensive charge.

“That might have been (Gwynn-Williams’) best game of the year,” Fleming said. “They both did a nice job really. (Gwynn-Williams) dominated inside all night, and Alexis gave us good energy off the bench.”

The second-seeded Lady Wildcats will be taking on top-seed, and defending state champion Incarnate Word Academy (22-4), for the right to advance to next week’s state sectionals.