By Matt Browning
The 2023-2024 season was the last one for Smoky Valley’s Adrian Hazelwood, but in her mind, it was by far the most enjoyable one.
“It was the most fun season I have had in all four years,” Hazelwood said. “Not only were we very successful on the court, but off the court we became so much closer. From our freshmen to our seniors we all became best friends and I believe that’s what contributed to our success. I would not trade this season for anything.”
The Vikings won the CKL this season and beating the team that had been the best was key in doing so.
“The one win that stands out the most to me was our one point victory against Hillsboro,” Hazelwood said. “Hillsboro was our previous league champion and multi-time state qualifier. This was an important win to make it easier to win the league. Everyone in the state of Kansas thought this would be a landslide for Hillsboro but we came off the tip-off with a 10-0 run. We continued this run through the game and won.”
Aside from beating Hillsboro, there were other memories that stood out to Hazelwood.
“Some specific moments that stood out to me this season were winning the Sterling Invitational Tournament Champions for the first time in school history,” Hazelwood said. “We also were fortunate to win the league for the first time since 1987 in arguably the toughest league in the state, the CKL. Another moment that was very exciting was winning the first round substate at Santa Fe. We came in as the six-seed, playing the three-seed, and after being up by one at halftime we finished by winning by 20-plus points.”
