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Photos by Oliver Peterson
The Lady Bonackers have had a difficult run the last few years and they’ve lost some of their best basketball players entering this season. Still, it is clear that East Hampton is making an effort to build the girls program back into one that wins.
Head coach Howard Wood lost girls to graduation and other sports, but he has gained two new assistant coaches and he said that they are already making a difference. Eighth grade basketball coach and longtime collaborator Louise O’Neal is on board as the team’s offensive coach and girls lacrosse coach Matt Malone is now covering the defensive side.
“He’s been a godsend,” Wood said of Malone, his newest assistant. “He’s got energy, he’s got knowledge” and he knows the girls.
With Malone and O’Neal as steady presences at practice, Wood said: “I can just sit back and watch and feed off of what they do. It makes a big difference.”
A former NBA player for the Utah Jazz and, before that, a star with the Volunteers at the University of Tennessee, the 6-foot 7-inch Wood said his specialty is working with the taller girls in the post positions. He added that most of his girls are still working on maintaining their focus, pointing to the importance of having extra sets of eyes on the court.
“The work gets done,” Wood said.
The Lady Bonackers will begin the season with 18 girls on the roster, though that number could decrease if the coach drops a few back down to the junior varsity squad, which only has nine or 10 players. Such a large number allows Wood some flexibility to choose those girls who are working the hardest. He warned that no starter is safe and that any one of them could lose their position if they don’t keep up a strong effort.
There was a good turnout at tryouts this year and the three coaches worked together to pick their lineup. Wood said he had to let some of his former varsity players go, explaining that he’s looking for girls willing to work hard year round and give the team their full attention.
Along with that, “you have to have knowledge,” Wood said, explaining that understanding the nuance of the game is just as important as athleticism. It is hard to maintain quality play when a girl only plays during the winter, he said, noting that some players joined O’Neal in a summer league, which is a big help in improving their overall game.
Wood said he wants to see tough defensive play that’s “mistake free” this season.
“We’ve had to explain simple things too much,” he said, pointing out that there’s still a lack of concentration among some of the girls. Still, he said, “they’ll get it.”
Wood remains confident that his players will learn to jell and communicate better as they grow more comfortable on the court and with each other.
“The outside girls are scrappy,” he said, adding that the team needs to get it together on the inside.
East Hampton’s current crop of girls needs to get aggressive, Wood said, explaining that he intends to put the team to work in the weight room this year, with extra focus on improving their lower body strength.
The team lost five seniors to graduation last spring, including Melissa Anderson, Liz Smith, Jillian Rennar, Jaja Engel-Snow and Courtney Dombkowski. Wood also lost Nicole Fierro, his star player and leading scorer with 175 total points last season, when East Hampton finished 3-12 in League VI.
Fierro was not only the team’s best player; she was also a leader who left everything on the court during every game. Wood acknowledged that she would be hard to replace. “She was a special athlete,” he said.
The Lady Bonackers have three seniors on the team this year, including returning forward Summer Foley, returning guard Catherine Curti and a new player, Shannon Sheehan, who has little experience but understands her role on the court, Wood said.
Freshman Kaelyn Ward, who had a great first varsity season as an eighth-grader last year, is back and continuing to work hard. Wood said Ward is a small girl, but she’s an “unbelievable talent” that “sees the game.” He noted that Ward has aspirations to play Division I ball in college and he would like to help her get there.
On December 13, the coach said he plans to bring the Lady Bonackers to see his college’s women’s team play in a benefit game at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. Though he does not expect his girls to play at the Division I level, Wood said he wants them to observe the quality of hard work and concentration displayed by the Volunteers.
“This is a team that needs to work,” he said, explaining that the Lady Bonackers are not returning champions who have the luxury of relaxing at practice. “We have to take advantage of every minute there.
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