Havelock girls strong on leadership

At Thursday’s practice, Havelock girls basketball coach Anna Spear emphasized the importance of building a family-type unity. She told her players to rely on each other.

The Rams should have no lack of leadership this year, as they return five seniors to the court.

Havelock lost its leading rebounder (Alyssa Luebs) and 3-point sharpshooter (Kahla Godette) in the offseason. Both are now playing in college.

But, they still have point guard Melissa Thomas in the starting lineup. As a junior last season, Thomas led Havelock in scoring (13.5 points per game) and also averaged three steals and three assists per game. 

"Your point guard is always the maestro out there," Spear said. "Melissa is our catalyst. She has expanded her game. It’s only going to make us better."

Thomas, who had 81 turnovers last season, worked on improving her court awareness and jumpshot in the offseason.

"I’m always trying to excel to the top," Thomas said. "My performance is always going to be the same. I always have to be the best no matter what."

Havelock’s three other guards with significant varsity experience are Kelley McCaffity, Marissa McCaffity and LaShonda Prichard.

Kelley McCaffity averaged 10.1 points per game last season and made 33 percent of her shots from 3-point range. Marissa McCaffity, the team’s backup point guard a year ago, developed into a tenacious defender.

"(Marissa) understands her role and how significant she is with her defense," Spear said. "She can back up Melissa at the point, and she can come in at shooting guard."

LaShonda Prichard, Desiree Morgan and Devone Massey will add depth out of the backcourt.

Spear also believes the Rams have a strong frontcourt, which will include senior forward Terry McMillan and sophomore forward Torri Nix. Timera Thomas, Amber Ferguson, Jamila Buckley and Kierra Fleming are also expected to see playing time.

 "We feel like we’ve got a good balance of weapons," Spear said. "We feel like we can be in contention for a conference championship. We expect nothing less than being in the playoffs and going deeper than we have."

The Rams advanced to the championship game of the Coastal Conference tournament last year and suffered a season-ending loss to Rocky Mount in the second round of the playoffs.

Havelock will play in a new-look Coastal Conference this year. New Bern and Rose are out, and White Oak and Jacksonville are in.

 "I think we can be conference champs," Thomas said. "Any team can be beaten on any given night. We just have to take it one game at a time."