New Covenant was a young team in 2016-17 with just two seniors on the roster. The Lady Warriors finished 14-9, but won eight of their last 11 games including a district-opening game against Morrisville before losing to eventual state champion Skyline in the semifinals.
“We had a ton of growth last year. Our team scoring went up, we grew as a defensive team, and we had some big contributions from our younger girls,” New Covenant head coach David Anderlik said. “The summer was productive as well. We put in a new offensive system and they took to it pretty well, and had some success over the summer with it. We get to build on that this year. But we will be young once again, and we are relying on a lot of newcomers, most of which I know very little about, to help us out and make contributions.”
Two seniors in Hope Hefley and Emerson Russell graduated while leading scorer Maggie Phipps transferred to Ozark. That group took with them 28.9 points per game.
Jacey Lamb was the second-leading scorer for the Lady Warriors last season with 8.7 points per game along with 2.4 rebounds and two steals.
“With the departures that we have had, we are counting on Jacey to continue her growth and improvement. I expect a breakout season from her,” Anderlik said. “She gets to the free throw line on a regular basis, can get red-hot from behind the arc, and is always looking to attack the rim. We are looking to get her more confident with the ball in the open court, and to be a defensive leader as well. She is poised to have a big year.”
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Alicia Batten was the fourth-leading scorer last year as a freshman last year at 7.8 points per game. She will run the point for New Covenant this season after averaging 2.9 assists per game last year.
“She runs the point for us and does an outstanding job of taking care of the ball and getting things going offensively,” Anderlik said. “We are going to ask her to be more scoring-minded, especially in the fast break, and we want her to get to the rim and shoot the three more consistently.”
Claire Cannefax will look to make a leap this year as a junior after leading the team with 6.2 rebounds per game along with her six-point per contest contribution.
“She can impose her will inside, and is tough and resilient,” Anderlik said. “She can shoot the outside jumper as well as finish at the rim, and she has a very high ceiling. She is a hard worker and a team leader, and a big season from her will go a long way to our success as a team this year.”
Susan Cha saw time in 24 varsity games last season and will have higher expectations this year.
Anderlik has a large group of at least eight newcomers that will fight for varsity minutes this year, as he tries to mold together a mostly-new varsity lineup.
“My goals with this team are day-by-day consistency, daily growth and improvement, and a great team attitude and concept that glorifies God and makes our school proud,” Anderlik said.
New Covenant opens the season on Nov. 17 at home against Sarcoxie.
