Low Numbers Don't Deter Lady Pats

Some basketball coaches believe in playing their five best players. Some favor playing the five that fit together best as a team. No need for Heritage Academy girls’ basketball coach Moe Reed to concern herself with such matters. Why bother? After all, she has only five players.

Well, technically eight counting the three ninth-graders who are playing up while divvying up their available minutes between the junior high and varsity teams. But just five true high schoolers - three seniors, two juniors. One for each finger on one hand. Or for that matter, toes on one foot. One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

“I probably won’t be getting any phone calls (from parents) complaining about playing time this year,” Reed said, with a chuckle. “There’s plenty for everybody.”

Indeed. While there’s an Air Force base here in Columbus, Lady Patriots’ basketball in 2023-’24 is more akin to another of the military branches: The few, the proud, the Moe-rines. They include seniors Chloe Boyd, Reagan Merchant and Ellie Dawson and juniors Caroline Peal and Sophie Starks.

Barring illness, injury or some other unforeseen circumstance, that quintet of upperclassmen will be on the floor when Heritage tips off the season tonight against visiting Winston Academy. It doesn’t take an X and O genius to figure out that the Lady Patriots’ fortunes rest squarely on the shoulders of those five young ladies.

“Those three freshmen (newcomer Jalecia McShane, Hunter Hill and Laura Lea Sharp) are going to help us . . . we’re expecting them to contribute, too. But, without a doubt, we’re going to go as far as those five carry us,” Reed said.

Heritage won 17 games a year ago and advanced to the Class 5A State Tournament for the first time since 2011. The fivesome of Boyd, Peal, Merchant, Dawson and Starks each started at one point or another and played major roles in that success. The lone starter not returning is Lucy Sharp, who averaged a team-leading 10.8 points per game. Sharp, a 1,000-point career scorer and tallest player on the team, was the only true post player on the roster. Her departure leaves Reed with a roster littered with guards.

So not only is Heritage low on numbers, it is also low on height. Peal and Merchant, the Lady Patriots’ two tallest players, both stand around 5 feet, 9 inches.

“We’ll definitely be undersized,” Dawson said. “We’ve played with Lucy a long time, so playing without her is something we’ll have to get used to. As for having a small team, that’s not something that’s new to us. So much so that we really don’t think about it. We know we have to be in really good shape because we’re going to play most of the game.”

Said Boyd: “We’ve always had a small team pretty much. Most of the teams we play have more players than us. They’re bigger. But we try not to use that as an excuse. We just roll with it and do the best we can with what we’ve got. That’s all we can do.”

Merchant is slated to fill Sharp’s vacated spot.

“This group has been together for a long time,” she said. “We’ve been with Coach Moe since the 8th grade. We had a pretty good year last year making it to State for the first time in a long time. Our goal this year is to go a little further than last year.”

Due to a change in the postseason format, there will be no District 1-5A Tournament this year. Only the top four teams in the district will advance to the North State Tournament. So that places even more emphasis on regular season district games against Bayou Academy, Magnolia Heights, Pillow Academy, Rossville (Ark.) and Starkville Academy.

“As long as we stay healthy and stay together as a team, I expect us to be right back where we were last year,” said Reed, who is entering her fifth season. “My expectations of these girls don’t drop at all because of the size of our team. I know a lot of people look at it and see that our numbers are small and that we don’t have a lot of depth and they kind of wonder how we do it. But these girls are used to it. They know they’re going to play a lot of minutes and they know they have to be in good shape.”

While Heritage’s lineup will feature a lot of familiar faces, Reed anticipates her team playing at a faster pace this season than in year’s past.

“We’ve got some big shoes to fill with Lucy gone in terms of her size in the post, her rebounding and her outside shot,” Reed said. “That said, I expect us to play at a lot quicker pace and get up and down the floor more. And we’re going to have to be more aggressive on defense because we are so small. We can’t afford to just sit back in the half court and let people post us up and take advantage of our lack of size inside.

“I think that’s where Jalecia is really going to be a big plus,” Reed continued. “I expect her to be a big spark off the bench. She brings a different dimension with her speed and quickness to go along with her tenacity on defense. I think she will help open up some things offensively for some of our returning players.”

One of those who could benefit most is Boyd, who can now slide to the off-guard position some and not be relied upon so heavily as the team’s lone ball-handler. She is the team’s leading returning scorer at 9.8 points per game. A savvy point guard and arguably Heritage’s best 3-point shooter, Boyd scored in double figures in 14 games a year ago as a junior. Her season-high of 21 points came against Winston, tonight’s opponent. That started a 14-game stretch to end the season in which she upped her average to 12.2 points per game.

“Chloe has gotten better every year, so I expect her to build off her junior year and do big things,” Reed said. “She’s been a leader for us from that point guard spot. I’m hoping to take some of that stress off of her this year by playing her some at the 2. I’m hoping that will free her up for some more shots.”

Merchant averaged 7.4 points per game last season. She scored in double digits on six occasions, including a season-high 15 points against Pillow Academy. Like Sharp, Merchant is able to step away from the basket and drain 3-pointers. Actually, she’s more comfortable on the perimeter. At the same time, she’s very aware her team needs her on the inside battling opposing bigs.

“She’s very competitive,” Reed said. “She’s tough, she’s gritty . . . and you’re going to get that out of her every game. She’s super passionate . . . I love that when her fire comes out. She’s going to be going up against bigger players on defense, but at the same time I think she can create some mismatches on offense, too.”

Dawson averaged 3.5 points per game. A reluctant shooter at times, defense is more her calling card, although she did have 15 points in a win over Washington - all in the second half - and 10 crucial points in a one-point victory over Starkville Academy.

“She’s a very important part of the puzzle because of her defense,” Reed said. “She’s really solid defensively. She’ll defend the other team’s best guard every night. She’s a really smart player, too. She’s in the right spot at the right time.”

Boyd, Merchant and Dawson are expected to be joined in the starting lineup by junior guards Caroline Peal (6.4 ppg.) and Sophie Starks (3.5 ppg.).

“Caroline is one of the best athletes in the school,” Reed said. “She has a knack of getting to the goal and making things happen. I look for her to really step up her game this year and be able to take over at times once she gains a little more confidence.

“Sophie had an awesome summer . . . she showed that she’s gotten a lot better. She’s quick, she’s athletic, and she’s got a decent outside shot. We’re going to need her to step up and play some big minutes for us with her moving into a starting role after mainly coming off the bench last year.”

Hill and Sharp, Lucy’s younger sister, each logged some minutes on the varsity team as 8th-graders last year.

“They both know the game and they both know what I expect out of them when I put them in,” Reed said. “That’s comforting as a coach knowing I have both of them down there that I can put in and play some minutes when I need them to.”

While having only eight players has its fair share of negatives - practice being one of those - it also has its positives. “Most of these girls have grown up together, they’ve been friends for a long time and they’ve played a lot of basketball together,” Reed said. “They know each others strengths and weaknesses, and there’s a special bond there.”