By Michael Letendre

BRISTOL – The season debut of Bristol Eastern basketball standout Leah Roy is on the horizon.

And the Lancers’ program will be ecstatic to have the junior competitor back on the court, causing havoc on the hardwood and helping her squad improve by the game.

Just after the completion of the season last year, the guard/forward tore her ACL in the spring and the junior competitor has been on the mend ever since.

Her return will help the program succeed on multiple levels.

“We’re looking to having her back in a week or two,” said Eastern coach Tony Floyd. “She’s gradually being able to do a little conditioning. She’s been looking pretty good. Hopefully, we can get her back halfway through the season.”

Frankly, Roy is a bulldog on the court and while her offensive game is still a work in progress, Roy does a little of everything extremely well.

Scoring just under three points-per-game in 2022-23, Roy was the second leading rebounder (6.7 per-game) on the squad behind Autumn Udoh while her 2.1 assists-per-game was an excellent contribution to the team.

One of three players to start all 23 games last season, she chipped in 1.2 steals-per-game and always seemed to be in the way of the opposing team’s best offensive player.

Roy provides leadership, depth and a willingness to compete and her all-around ability has been a missing ingredient in Eastern’s varsity games despite the squad’s strong 7-1 start.

“She does the little things people don’t see,” said Floyd. “She fills the lanes. She contributes in all kind of ways. We miss that a little bit.”

Eastern’s freshmen crew, including Savannah Drury and Cassie Sward, have been nothing less than sensational while Roy was watching from the sidelines.

On Tuesday night against Lewis Mills, Roy dressed for the game but did not play as she still isn’t cleared to compete.

However, with Roy soon coming back, she’s another piece of the Eastern puzzle and will continue to help those talented underclassmen along the way.

“We miss some of that experience,” said Floyd of Roy. “She’s been starting now for a couple years.”

Give Roy all the credit in the world because she’s returning to the court in under a year’s time from when her injury occurred.

An ACL tear isn’t just a physical injury but a mental one as well, which can set back an athlete.

Roy had to put in grueling hours of work just to get her knee back into shape, obviously stayed positive throughout the process and the payoff will be that first game when she reports to the scorer’s table for the Kingstreeters.

“It will be nice to get her back in there,” said Floyd. “It will give us more depth. We’ll be able to do a little bit more defensively, get into transition. I think she’ll be able to help us run the floor a little bit more.”

She’s in good shape according to Floyd, able to cut on the court in practice and can’t wait to ramp things up – just needing medical clearance to get out on the hardwood with her mates during regular season play.

Roy could be ready in time for the first clash between Bristol Eastern and Bristol Central on January 16 or it could be the game before or even the one after that.

The bottom line Roy’s time is nearly at hand.

And when she’s cleared to finally compete on the court at the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium, it’s going to be a big deal and a pleasure to witness.

“She’s almost there,” said Floyd. “I think her due date is in a couple weeks. Progress wise, she’s been doing great.” 

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