Columbus East’s Kenzie Cheek passes the ball against Whiteland in the Feb. 4 in the Columbus North Sectional.
The Republic file photo
Columbus East had a rocky 2024-25 girls basketball season, but after a promising summer season, things could be looking up for the Olympians.
East played 17 games during the June period when coaches and work with their teams and play games against other schools and finished above the .500 mark.
“It was a really good summer, a lot of good basketball,” East coach Kaitlyn Phillips said. “We’re beating teams we should, and we’re competing against teams we should be competing against. That’s definitely the starting point for us.”
The Olympians played in the Carmel Shootout and the Central Indiana Basketball Association shootout. They finished the summer season with a Team Camp at Indiana Wesleyan.
Columbus East’s Ella Anthis goes to the basket against Southwestern (Hanover) in the first round of the Hauser Tournament Dec. 26, 2024.
The Republic file photo
Incoming seniors Kenzie Cheek, Ella Anthis and Averie Graham were starters last year, and senior Brelyn Pool saw action as a sophomore before missing last season with an ACL tear. Incoming juniors Krea Martin and Lola Watkins were starters at times last season, and incoming junior Lucy Ross came off the bench.
East has 15 incoming freshmen, and four of them — Allison Halstead, Hayden Meek, Bailey Rohde and Emma Armstrong — played with the varsity this summer.
“Our upperclassmen are showing some good leadership and improvement, and our incoming freshman are showing a lot of upside and excitement,” Phillips said. “They just bring an extra level of energy and competition that offers some relief to the upperclassmen. So hopefully, the roles are more dispersed this year. It’s been a good summer watching them all, and it’s going to be interesting to see how it all plays out come November.”
The Olympians also picked up a pair of transfers in incoming juniors Emma Fischvogt from Columbus North and Aleigha Wickliffe from Hauser, who could play JV or varsity.
“I’m not quite sure,” Phillips said. “They came in right at the beginning of the summer. We did a lot of evaluating this summer.”
