Hustle, hard work keys to Braves’ success
DECATUR—20 years from now, when members and fans of the Bellmont girls basketball team look back on the 202122 season, one of the enduring quotes will have to be Andy Heim’s statement following the victory over Norwell Saturday.
“We made a game plan and we executed it perfectly.”
With two of their key ball handlers and scorers out for the postseason, coach Andy Heim was forced to go back to the drawing board, clamp down on defense, and incorporate new players into the fold who had been on the peripheral for much of the regular season.
Now, his team stands just one day (and two games) away from the first regional title since 1993.
This team has a connection to the teams that won back-to-back regional titles in ‘92 and ‘93.
Sydney Keane and Kenzie Fuelling, the team’s two first-team all-conference selections this season, are cousins, the daughters of twin sisters Machelle Fuelling and Malissa Keane. They were seniors on the 1992 team that finished 23-2 and won a conference title. They suffered just one regular season loss, to Fort Wayne Snider, and then won 21 in a row before losing to Kokomo at semistate. Another member of that team, Krista Reinking, is the daughter of current assistant coach, Denny Reinking.
“It comes down to team defense and hustle for us now,” says coach Heim, who knows the highs and lows of being a head coach. In 2014, his team finished 0-21. Speaking to former head coach Lou Koning after Tuesday’s sectional title, Heim spoke to the difficulty of building up a program that had just ten wins in his first three years.
“Honestly, what changed this program was Grace Hunter,” Heim said of the current Northern Illinois guard.
One of the best players in Bellmont basketball history, Hunter came to Bellmont in 2015.
“From day one, she showed up and worked,” remembers Heim. “I mean really worked. From there it was a snowball. People saw her working and realized they needed to start working too.”
Then came other hard-nosed players like Kenzie McMahon, who now plays college ball at Grace College in northern Indiana. Meghan Busick played through pain and injury and had an exhilarating three-point stroke. Players like Emma Keane, Sydney’s older sister, showed that it didn’t matter what grade a player was. If effort was put forth and hustle exhibited, playing time followed.
Heim lists off a dozen girls who have come since Hunter, like last year’s seniors: Morgan Shifferly, Faith Morris, Kayla Heckman and Lauren Bleke.
The 11th-year coach says this year’s lone senior, Kenzie Fuelling, continued to carry that torch through this season.