By Chad Hayworth (for Ozarkssportzone.com)
For the fifth time in as many years, the East Newton Lady Patriots start the season with a new head coach.
But this coach is no stranger to the school.
Ethan Heilig is in his fourth year of coaching and teaching at East Newton, having served as an assistant to boys basketball coach Kyle Fields.
But his Patriot roots run even deeper. Heilig played basketball for the Patriots, graduating in 2016. Building a stable culture for the girls program is among his highest priorities.
“That’s not going to happen in just one year,” he said. “The advantage for me being an East Newton guy is that I want to be here. The school as a whole knows me, and I think they know that I’m where I want to be.”
Heilig said he’s got some players that can score, where he wants to see improvement is defensively.
“The willingness to get down and guard someone, that’s what we need now,” he said. “Skill-wise, we will be OK. If we can get that scrappiness, that toughness, I think we have a pretty good chance to be successful.”
Heilig inherits a team that didn’t lose a single player to graduation and features just a single senior.
Junior Lilah Sesay averaged 9.2 points per game a season ago and was named to honorable mention All-Big 8. Freshman Sylvia Larsen led the team with 9.5 ppg, and was the team’s best 3-point shooter, Heilig said.
Senior Kadie Sesay, junior Halle Cook and sophomore Kolby Rinehart each contributed about 5 points per game as well.
Heilig said he looks for Rinehart to step up and take on more of the Lady Patriots’ scoring needs.
“She’s a bit longer at that guard position, and has a really good first step,” he said. “She’s been a pass-first player, but I’m looking forward to her coming out of her shell a bit.”
East Newton will be without their tallest player, sophomore Kaylea Holmes, for at least the first half of the season. Holmes tore her ACL over the summer.
“She can be a force inside,” Heilig said.
Heilig said both Larsen and Cook stood out to him during summer games for their defensive attitudes and willingness to get on the floor for loose balls.
The Lady Patriots finished 9-17 overall and 1-7 in Big 8 play a year ago. For the team to improve on that mark, Heilig said they need to embrace the East Newton tradition of being defensively minded.
The starting lineup is still up in the air, Heilig said, though there are about eight players with the potential to start.
“Girls who play really good defense will get a lot of playing time,” he said.
The Lady Patriots open the season against Exeter on November 21, before playing in the Gem City Classic in Diamond starting December 1.
They will also play in the Southwest Holiday Tournament after Christmas and the Tri-State Classic in Jay, Okla., in late January.
East Newton opens conference play against McDonald County on January 2.
