College Heights Christian girls basketball graduated a trio of integral seniors last year, tasking John Blankenship with replacing that production while continuing the successful run his program has had as he enters his 25th year as a head coach.
The Cougars are coming off a 17-12 campaign that saw CHC finish with a 5-1 record in the Ozark 7 Conference. However, College Heights lost several key pieces from last season—PG Jayli Johnson, G Lauren Ukena and G/F Addie Lawrence.
“We lost three great seniors last year,” Blankenship said. “They will be hard to replace. We will be young at the guard position. There will be a period of growth, but each of them are very athletic, quick and ready to work hard. If we stay healthy, I think we will surprise several teams this year. I believe we will create the necessary team chemistry quickly and will be very competitive this year.”
Fortunately, the Cougars return plenty of varsity minutes to help the transition to the younger players stepping into larger roles.
Leading the list of lettermen coming back for CHC are returning starters Maddy Colin (F/G), co-Ozark 7 Conference Player of the Year Libby Fanning (F) and Ava Lett (G).
Colin is a senior, while Fanning and Lett are juniors.
“Maddy is a strong post player that provides rebounding on both ends of the court,” Blankenship said. “She has a strong offensive post presence, but also has the ability to play on the perimeter and give us another 3-point shooter.
“Libby is a 6-foot post player who averaged double-digit points and rebounds last year. She is an outstanding post player who can also step out and hit 3-point shots. She will be a tough matchup for teams.
“Ava is our shooting guard, and she continues to get better every year. She has the potential to be one of the best 3-point shooters in our conference. We are hoping she can extend defenses further on the perimeter with her shooting and open things up inside for Libby and our other post players.”
Of course, with that much experience returning to the paint, it’s no surprise that is where the strength will be for College Heights. Their size and skill inside will be a mismatch for teams.
Also returning with varsity experience is senior Avery Schumaker (F), juniors Kinley Marsh (F) and Molly Long (F), and sophomores Jesalin Bever (PG), Karly Dorris (G) and Allie Stout (G/F).
“We have very good height and strength with our post players, and great quickness with our guards,” Blankenship said when asked about his team’s prospects this season. “I’ve had success the last several years of getting players to buy into the vision. I fully expect this group to do the same. Additionally, they will be unified, they will work hard, and they will play and practice with integrity.
“Integrity, work ethic, being a presence that sets a tone, being mentally tough, and being coachable are critical to any team’s success. Integrity binds all of those characteristics together and creates layers of trust and team growth. We have those traits in place. If we can develop our skills quickly, the potential for a great season is there even after losing three awesome seniors last year.”
Of course, with a bit of a youth movement going on this season for College Heights, the Cougars who are getting their first real taste of heavy varsity minutes will need time to get comfortable with the change of pace. Coach Blankenship believes when the cohesiveness arrives, consistent play and wins will follow.
“Staying healthy, being able to adjust to new offensive and defensive systems, and having athletes that didn’t see a lot of playing time last year able to learn quickly,” Blankenship said when asked the keys to success for CHC this season. “These are athletic players that are so coachable. I think we will do pretty well this year.”
College Heights opens the season on Nov. 21 against Rush.
