The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Mentor graduate on torrid start for JCU
Senior Nicole Heffington of Mentor has been everything and more for the John Carroll women’s team.
With a 12-game season consisting of six weekends, John Carroll women’s basketball coach Beth Andrews views her team’s shortened season as a sprint.
Fortunately for Andrews and the Blue Streaks, she has a player who’s in top-speed mode.
Senior Nicole Heffington of Mentor has been everything and more the first-year coach could have hoped for as the Ohio Athletic Conference shoehorns its basketball schedules into two months.
Through four games — all victories — Heffington is filling up the stat sheet while her teammate Olivia Nagy (who missed JCU’s first two games) finds her way back into the lineup. Huffington is averaging 22.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists with 3.0 steals. She’s shooting 64.5% from the field and 83.3% from the free-throw line.
Against Mount Union on Jan. 29, Heffington connected on a 3-pointer as time expired to force overtime, where the Blue Streaks secured the victory. The next night, she scored a game-high 30 points and made four more 3-pointers in an 84-83 win over the Purple Raiders.
“I just wanted to come out and show the OAC we’re ready to take this season.” Nicole Heffington
Heffington isn’t sure if this season is her last. She will earn her undergraduate degree this spring and is mulling the option of pursuing a master’s degree in education. If that’s the case, she will consider playing in 2021-22. The NCAA recently announced a waiver in which players can earn an extra year of eligibility because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“Taking this year as it is my last year,” said Heffington. “There’s been a lot of uncertainty. I’ve been really excited to play. It’s been about 10 months without real opponents. These first two weekends, I just wanted to come out and show the OAC we’re ready to take this season. Personally, I’m ready to step up for my team.”
Those 10 months off has apparently not prevented Heffington from showing off impressive endurance. The guard/forward showed up in early January in top shape. So far, she’s logged games of 30, 28, 43 and 34 minutes.
Her performances after two weekends have not gone unnoticed. This week, she was named OAC player of the week and earned a second straight spot on the D3hoops.com Team of the Week.
“This is potentially her
last season at John Carroll, and the seniors are on a mission,” said Andrews. “Are you happy with how you left the floor in case you don’t get that tomorrow?”
That question has been answered for Andrews, who said her senior’s ability to be a complete player and fill up the stat sheet isn’t easy. It’s been especially impressive with Nagy — the reigning OAC Player of the Year — working her way back.
“It takes a lot to be that type of player — a lot of work, a lot of confidence, a lot of trust in your teammates and yourself,” said Andrews.
Andrews, a JCU grad and former standout player, has been aware of Heffington’s hoops prowess long before her time at John Carroll. Before joining the coaching staff three years ago, Andrews was the head coach of the Lake Catholic girls basketball team. Heffington was always the focus when Andrews’ Cougars played the Cardinals.
Now Heffington is on Andrews’ side, but it nearly didn’t play out that way. Heffington wasn’t sure she wanted to continue playing beyond high school, but the summer between her senior year at Mentor and first year at college confirmed her passion for the game.
“I knew then I wanted to keep playing,” she said. “I would have missed it.” What a career it’s been. After her first year, she was named OAC Freshman of the Year and followed that with being named OAC Player of the Year as a sophomore. Her teammate Nagy won the award last season, and Heffington was firstteam All-OAC. Her career averages prior to this season were 15.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
Beyond JCU’s 12 scheduled games and the OAC tournament, the D-III world remains hopeful there will be an NCAA men’s and women’s tournament. If that happens, the Blue Streaks could be a factor with its senior-heavy roster, and Nagy, who’s a junior. Two seasons ago, the JCU women were 22-7 and an NCAA team. A year ago, the Blue Steaks were 23-5 but lost in the OAC tournament championship game and did not earn an NCAA at-large bid.
Heffington and her teammates have held that memory tight.
“I think we have some unfinished business there,” she said about another run to the NCAA tournament. “I definitely think this team is really special.”