By Michael Letendre
The Bristol Eastern girls basketball squad is eager to hit the hardwood again, opening the season tonight from home.
And the Lancers will do so with one of its top all-time players ready for a big winter campaign.
Ciara Collins, the five-position player from Eastern, looks to add to her 1,033 career points and could become the program’s all-time leader in points before the season is said and done.
Eastern will be vertically challenged this year but the locals would love to press and trap a bit more, causing a bit of havoc on the floor.
And there’s certainly a realistic shot at a .500 ledger with an incredibly challenging schedule.
Let’s look at the 2021-22 team:
BRISTOL EASTERN GIRLS BASKETBALL
Head Coach: Tony Floyd (42nd season)
Last Season’s Record: 10-4 overall in 2021 due to the shortened campaign due to pandemic.
Overall Record: In 42 seasons at Eastern, Floyd is 586-323 overall.
Subtractions: Cali Doyon (guard), Alyssa Kehler (forward), Sage Scarritt (forward/center), Audrey Tice (transferred to St. Paul Catholic).
Key Players: Ciara Collins (sr, guard/forward/center), Taigan Parent (jr, guard), Janessa Gonzalez (sr, forward), Emma Stavens (so, guard/forward), Vanessa Drury (so, guard), Emily Piendak (jr, guard), Madison Charette (so, guard), Lauren Ayotte (so, guard), Gracie Lamar (so, forward).
Strengths: Speed, transition play, Collins
Weaknesses: Height, varsity experience
Why Eastern will be successful: The Lancers have several backcourt players that could create turnovers and miscues in an up-tempo style game.
Relevant Fact: Due to Eastern’s success over the years, the program will see several elite squads over CCC Interdivisional play with numerous big games on tap this season.
Second Relevant Fact: Since going 7-13 in 1994-95, the Lancers have played in the postseason every year since.
Third Relevant Fact: Floyd is 14 wins away from 600 career victories at Bristol Eastern.
Overview: Eastern will play a full schedule this season – led by All-State talent Ciara Collins who is Pace bound in the fall.
And as a junior, she carried Eastern to another 10-win campaign and continued to impress on the court.
Collins dropped in 23.2 points and 8.6 rebounds-per-game last season – both team-leading totals – and those numbers could even increase as the season plays out.
Over the COVID shortened campaign last year, Collins led the team in scoring in all of Eastern’s 14 games and dished out 3.9 assists and snared 2.1 steals-per-game to augment her tremendous all-around talents.
She also canned over 49-percent of her field goals, dropped in an Eastern best 27 three-pointers and only missed nine of her 69 free throw attempts.
Collins is as good as they come, sets her feet before she shoots, finishes on the break and will once again be the leader of the squad which is a bit lean on varsity minutes this year.
She also could become the school’s all-time leading scorer if everything falls into place before things are said and done, needing 533 points to catch Kathy Ferrier (1,563 points).
But she’s going to need some help and that’s where junior Taigan Parent, sophomore Emma Stavens and senior Janessa Gonzalez come into play.
That trio played in 39 games last season, making 14 combined starts overall.
Parent played in all 14 games last season, starting half of those assignments, posting 3.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists-per-game.
She doesn’t shoot a ton but makes her attempts count and will have to kick in a little more offense for the Lancers to be successful this season.
Stavens had a tremendous first-year debut and should help shoulder some more of the offensive load this time around.
Last year, her averages of 3.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists-per-game was a nice contribution to the team.
And she has plenty of ability to keep growing with the program.
Gonzalez played in 11 games last season, making eight starts along the way.
The 44-percent shooter from the field averaged 6.3 points and 4.8 rebounds-per-game – snaring nearly two of those rebounds off the offensive glass.
She’s another experienced hand that should help the team in and around the paint.
Other players are going to have to make contributions and could come from the likes of junior Emily Piendak, and sophomores Vanessa Drury, Madison Charette, Lauren Ayotte, and Gracie Lamar.
Some of those players got minutes in a few lopsided wins from last season but this group needs to make positive gains over the minutes handed out if the Lancers are going to have a good year on the hardwood.
Size will be an issue with this squad but if Eastern decides to run, press and trap for transition hoops and points, the Lancers should be better than advertised.
As always, veteran head coach Tony Floyd is going to figure out the best way to use the assets he puts out on the floor and with Collins leading the charge, Eastern has a chance to be successful over the twenty regular season games in 2021-22.
Games to watch this season: The Lancers have a loaded slate, starting with a visit from Edwin O. Smith tonight from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium at 6:45 p.m.
The Class L program tangles with Windsor on Friday to close the week while Eastern will compete again East Hartford (January 6), East Catholic (January 11), Conard (January 20), Glastonbury (January 28) and powerful Newington (February 4) over a tough CCC Interdivisional plate.
Currently, the first battle between Bristol Eastern and Bristol Central is set for Saturday on January 22 (4 p.m.).
