Hazelwood Central upstarts London, Beard earn spots on all-SNC squad

Hazelwood Central’s LaVetta London and Erika Beard were names which were not on the area girl’s basketball radar coming into the season.

The Hawks had won the Suburban North Conference title last year and capped off their season with a third-place finish in the state tournament.

But many of the key players from that team were gone and it took efforts by players such as London and Beard to earn Hazelwood Central its third consecutive outright league title.

Thanks to their efforts, London and Beard were recently named to the all-Suburban North Conference first team.

London, a 5-foot-4 senior guard, averaged 10.4 points a game and led the team in 3-pointers and steals. She was a role player on the team that finished third at state in 2009 as one of the first guards off the bench.

“LaVetta came into her own this season,” said Hazelwood Central coach Wendy Reeves, who was named the SNC Coach of the Year for the second year in a row. “She could hit the 3-pointer and also score off penetration. She did a lot of things offensively for us but she was just as valuable on defense. She is really quick and we always put her up against the opposition’s top scoring guard.”

Beard, a 5-foot-8 junior forward, was even more of a surprise for the Hawks. She had made the varsity team as a sophomore but never played a game after being dismissed from the squad.

“We knew Erika always had the potential,” Reeves said. “She missed some practices last year but she was on time this year and was a key player for us. She really took over on the boards for us and kept us in a couple of the close games we had in conference. She has a real knack for the ball and most of her points came on offensive putbacks.”

Beard averaged in double figures at 10 points per game. She also pulled down 6.6 rebounds a game and shot over 53-percent from the field.

Hazelwood Central, which went 7-0 in the conference, was the only team to have two players named to the six-player first team.

McCluer North, which finished second in the league and then beat Hazelwood Central in the district final, had the Player of the Year in Kaci Cason. The junior was third in the league in scoring (14.9 points per game). She averaged seven rebounds a game and also led the Stars in assists and blocks and was second on the team in steals.

Monique Rigsby of Riverview Gardens led the league in scoring. The 5-foot-4 junior guard averaged 15.3 points per game. She also led the league in made 3-pointers and was in the top six in three other categories. She was third in assists, fourth in free throw percentage and sixth in steals.

Pattonville’s Mikala McGhee and Hazelwood West’s Shakaunna Oliver-Futrell rounded out the first team.

McGhee was in the top 10 in six categories in the league. McGhee, a 5-10 sophomore forward, was fifth in scoring (12.3), fourth in 3-pointers made, second in free throw percentage, seventh in assists, eighth in steals and fifth in blocks.

Oliver-Futrell, a 5-5 junior guard, averaged 13.5 points a game, which was fourth in the league. She led the Suburban North in steals, was second in assists and seventh in both 3-point field goals and free throw percentage.