By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Nevada’s girls basketball team got off to a hot start last season, winning 10 of its first 13 games, and finished with a 17-9 record, the program’s fourth winning season in the last five years. The Tigers won the Big 8 West and defeated Springfield Catholic by 7 for the conference crossover championship.
Blake Howarth was named Big 8 West Coach of the Year and the Tigers racked up the postseason honors. Clara Swearingen earned Class 4 All-State honors as a sophomore and was also the Big 8 West Player of the Year. Maddy Majors was a second team All-Conference pick, Abbey Heathman was an honorable mention pick and Grace Barnes earned a spot on the All-Defense team.
From that group, only Barnes was lost to graduation, giving the Tigers a solid returning core this winter. Swearingen is back as a junior guard, and Majors and Heathman return as seniors.
“The thing that makes Clara talented and special is her work ethic,” Howarth said. “She’s almost a perfectionist. She likes to compete, she likes to play hard, she spends a lot of time during the season and out of the season on her basketball game. It’s her passion. For her to win those awards as a sophomore goes to show how good of a work ethic she actually has.”
She averaged 16.2 points per game along with 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists. She also led the team with 56 steals.
The 6-foot-0 Heathman has discovered a passion for the game, Howarth said, and is “super athletic” and a multi-sport athlete who also excelled in volleyball. She scored 6.9 points per game and was the team’s top rebounder with 7.8 per game. She added 31 steals and a dozen blocks.
“Real strong, quick, athletic,” he said. “I played her as a post or center last year and she’ll probably move into a forward spot to try to get a mismatch with other teams because of her athleticism.”
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Majors, another guard, is also a multi-sport athlete who Howarth described as “really coachable.” She’s the team’s second-leading scorer with 12.8 points per game last year and she added 3.1 rebounds and had 32 steals.
“We’re going to lean on her a little bit more this year to handle the basketball for us so we can get Clara coming off screens,” he said.
Junior Katie Johnson (3.6 PPG, 4.4 REB, 33 steals) was the first player off the bench last season and will earn a starting role this year. Howarth said she’s also shown a passion for basketball and plays the game the correct way. Junior Lakyn Applegate returns after playing as a freshman but not last year and will help take some pressure away from Majors and Swearingen because she can knock down some shots. Junior Kara Phillips also returns after taking a year off and is athletic and aggressive on defense. She’ll be asked to handle the basketball and be a leader on the floor.
A pair of sophomores who played junior varsity last year will also contribute. Caylee Holcomb is a guard with a strong defensive presence. And Halle Richmond is a forward who showed a lot of improvement and could help spell Heathman while providing the team some rebounding and even three-point shooting.
Sophomore center Mary Kate Russell could also earn some varsity time and has a lot of potential, Howarth said.
“Our group has a great team chemistry,” Howarth said. “To have that chemistry this group of girls has, I think that speaks volumes to the potential but also how team focused we really are. I see us being a very competitive core and group. That’s what I expect out of us, to compete night in and night out and everyday at practice. Whatever happens in between we’re going to learn from and get better so we can improve from last year.”
Nevada is scheduled for the Seneca jamboree along with Cassville on Nov. 15. The Tigers open the season with a new game against Lebanon, on the road, and have also added some Kansas schools in Frontenac (road game Jan. 30) and Girard (road game Dec. 16).
