By Chris Parker
New Heights Christian fell below .500 for the first time since 2016-17 last year finishing with a 13-14 record.
The Lady Cougars return a talented core who are looking to make that a one-year blip.
Senior post player Libby Fanning returns after averaging 18.5 points and 13.7 rebounds per game. The Evangel signee had 23 double-doubles last season.
“Libby will be instrumental to our success,” New Heights head coach John Blankenship said. “She is a strong post player who averaged a double-double again last year as a junior. She was our leading scorer and rebounder. She will see a lot of double teams again this year. This will open up scoring opportunities for other players.”
Ava Lett returns for her senior season after she averaged 8.7 points per game with 53 made 3-pointers last season.
“Ava has improved immensely over the last couple of years,” Blankenship said. “She is a very good three point shooter. This will help stretch out defenses that want to collapse their defense on Libby. She is also a very unselfish player that will look to find the open person. However, the one area that she has really improved in is her ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the basket. She is far more than a one-dimensional player. She is a threat to hit the three-point shot as well as drive and score or pass to the open player as the defense steps up to stop her.”
Kinley Marsh led the team in blocks with 29 while scoring 4.6 points per game with 5.3 rebounds.
“Kinley is a very versatile player, especially on the defensive side of things,” Blankenship said. “She is tall and her length causes a lot of difficulty for opposing post players. Additionally, she is also very quick with great lateral movement. This allows us to use her to defend guards on the perimeter. This gives us great flexibility defensively especially defending ball screens.”
Jesalin Bever contributed 4 points, 2.1 steals and 2.4 assists per game.
“Jesalin has worked really hard in the off-season and continues to improve each year,” Blankenship said. “The area I have been most pleased with is how she is attacking the basket off the dribble. She has a great mid-range jumper and finishes well around the basket. She will be another scoring threat teams will have to focus on, but also has the ability to pick up several assists per game if defenses try to help on her penetration. Jesalin is also a great defender. She will put a lot of ball pressure on opposing guards.”
Karly Dorris scored 3.7 points per game.
“Karly is another versatile player that will play both guard and a post position for us,” Blankenship said. “Karly will put a lot of pressure on defenses with her ability to attack the basket off the dribble. Defensively, Karly plays physically which allows her to help with post players, but her greatest strength is guarding great players off the ball. She fights through screens extremely well and does a great job of denying other team’s better players by keeping the ball out of their hands.”
Allie Stout averaged 4 points and 2.1 assists per game.
“Allie is a much-improved player,” Blankenship said. “Her shooting this summer was exciting to see. If she continues to bring that to the team, it will really open things up for our post players inside. She can also get to the basket with her quickness. She runs the floor so well and so fast which is very instrumental to our transition game. She and Jesalin have the ability to wreak a lot of havoc on defense with their quickness.”
Freshmen Julia Sanchez and Ella Nelson have the potential to find varsity minutes right away.
“I fully expect Julia to have an immediate impact as a freshman. She will be a triple threat for us with her 3-point shooting, her ability to shoot off the dribble at mid-range, and she can also drive effectively and finishes well around the basket. She is also quick and runs the floor well,” Blankenship said. “Ella is a gifted athlete. Her athleticism and potential is extremely high. She is a developing player, but if she works hard, she has the potential to be an excellent player. I also fully expect her to make an impact at the varsity level.”
Transition and defense will be strengths for New Heights.
“We have focused on two areas the last several seasons and those have become our identity. Transition and defense,” Blankenship said. “I believe we have the players in place to excel in those areas again. Most athletes focus on the offensive end of the court. Getting buy-in from players to commit to playing great defense, which leads to a successful transition game, is always the challenge. I’ve been blessed with kids of great character who want to do what is best for the team.”
New Heights opens the season on Nov. 26 at RUSH.
“Being a Christian school, we want to represent Jesus, our school, and our shared core values extremely well,” Blankenship said. “I want us to continue to display team unity and see our team chemistry develop as it has in the past. We have worked hard at developing a culture of unity, encouragement, and hard work over the past several years. You see this from kids on the bench supporting those playing in front of them to starters being excited for players that get in toward the end of the game doing something well. Reinforcing great habits in a program creates standards. When those standards are lived out consistently, great things happen. This fosters the type of team culture that leads to success. This type of culture creates meaningful relationships that will stick with them for a lifetime. Wins and losses will soon be forgotten, but shared memories, fun times, and deep relationships will last a lifetime.”
