Heathwood Hall’s Logan Ress With only three players returning, the Heathwood Hall girls basketball team faced a changing of the guard this season.

And the first six games have borne that out.

• A new coach, John O’Cain took over after eight seasons coaching the boys junior varsity.

• The Highlanders turned the point guard’s role over to an eighth–grader.

• Three eighth–graders crashed the eight–player rotation.

• And, Heathwood is off to a 3–3 start.

“We are very athletic,” O’Cain said. “Once we learn how to use that on defense as well as to get up and down the court, we’ll be more consistent.”

That consistency begins with the three seniors: guards Logan Ress and Kiaya Demonbreun and forward T’Keyah Worthy. However, Worthy missed most of last season with an illness.

“Logan’s very athletic but hasn’t been counted on as a scorer, so she is working to develop that mentality,” O’Cain said. “Kiaya is good defensively and can play all the guard spots. T’Keyah’s the best defender on the team; though she plays the post (at 5-7), she can step out and hit jumpers.”

While that trio provides the leadership, the three eighth–graders provide tantalizing possibilities of seasons to come.

A’ja Wilson (6-0) leads that trio. The point guard is leading the Highlanders in scoring (19 ppg.) and rebounding (16 rpg.).

“Having her run the point causes mismatches,” O’Cain said. “If other teams put a big, slow girl on her, she drives right by them. If teams put a short guard on her, she takes the shot off the dribble with her 3–point range. She makes eighth– grade mistakes, but with time and experience she will get better.”

The other eighth– graders, Victoria Dickerson and Erin Ress, are the first two off the bench. Dickerson is the younger sister of former Heathwood Hall standout Brionna Dickerson, who is serving as an assistant coach following her collegiate career at South Carolina.

The fifth starter is forward Carson Lunceford, who, at 5-10, is the second tallest player on the roster. She is averaging 10 ppg and 8 rpg in the season’s first month.

“She’s doing a fantastic job,” O’Cain said. “She is a true competitor, and that makes her a threat at both ends of the court on every possession.”