Defense carries Wildcats to title
Christian Gooden/Post-Dispatch | Hazelwood West's Shakaunna Oliver-Futrell (right) drives against Duchesne's Melissa Eisenbath in Thursday's Duchesne Invitational title game.
The Hazelwood West girls basketball team has seen its share of scoring droughts this season. So the Wildcats didn’t panic when they missed 12 of their first 13 shots on Thursday in the championship game of the 33rd annual Duchesne Invitational Tournament.
”Shooting isn’t really our strong point – defense is,” said West coach Jim Fleming.
The second-seeded Wildcats stayed true to their colors riding a full-court pressing defense to a 64-37 victory over fifth-seeded Duchesne in the final of the eight-team affair.
West, which improved to 6-2, used a 15-0 run over the final 5 minutes 31 seconds of the first half to take control. Junior Shakaunna Oliver-Futrell led the way 15 points and triggered the outburst with a pair of steals that led to points. Senior Danielle DeMoulin added 12 points and 11 rebounds and junior Ashton Aubuchon had nine points and 10 rebounds.
Duchesne (2-8) entered the tournament without a victory and recorded back-to-back upsets to reach the championship game.
The Wildcats broke out of their shooting slump midway through the second quarter thanks in part to a ball-hawking defense that forced six turnovers in a seven-possession span. Oliver-Futrell scored on a short jumper to give West its first lead 18-17 midway through the period. Sophomores Araka Norwood and Mia Williams then added 3-pointers and junior Chanel Gwynn-Williams scored from close range to get the Wildcats off and running.
West’s pressure defense forced Duchesne to miss its last nine shots of the opening half.
The Wildcats, who led led 29-17 at the break, went on another 15-0 blitz in the third quarter. That run put the game away.
“Eventually defense is going to turn into offense for us,” explained Oliver-Futrell. “It took us time. We just had to get into our rhythm.”
The Warriors couldn’t buy a basket in the first 12 minutes and trailed 17-14 before the defense took over. Duchesne sophomore Melissa Eisenbath scored six early points for the Pioneers and finished with a team-high 12 points.
“They kind of turned up the defensive pressure and we forgot the things we were supposed to do,” said Pioneers coach Pat Steagall. “They scored points in bunches.”
West, which beat Duchesne 72-64 in a regular-season contest Dec. 14, forced 26 turnovers and held Duchesne scoreless for a five-minute stretch in each half. The Pioners managed just two field goals each in the second and third quarters when the game was decided.
Oliver-Futrell and Norwood were named to the all-tournament team along with Eisenbath. Tasha Hamm, of St. Charles and Stephanie Price, from McCluer, round out the five-player team.
