Heeb, Delta girls basketball defining expectations with talented returning cast

In the realm of Class 1 MSHSAA girls basketball, it’s tough to find consistency. Seasons change, players rise, and then they graduate. The hand changes every year. With Delta, that simply hasn’t been the case.

The Bobcats are coming off their fourth consecutive district championship, making a Class 1 quarterfinal last year but falling just short of the comeback against Chadwick.

Since his hiring in 2018, coach David Heeb has turned the Lady ‘Cats from a program without a girls basketball team to a state-contending club with perennial final-four expectations.

Ending the season with a 25-4 record last season after handling a slew of turnover, the Bobcats look to make the most of a strong returning cast with another shot at the elusive state title.

“We had a great season, but it was a very disappointing finish,” Heeb said. “We lost to a team that had the lead in the fourth quarter of the state finals, and we’re sitting at home on the couch.”

“I mean no disrespect to them. They had a good team but, you know, you spend the whole summer saying ‘Could’ve, would’ve, should’ve.’”

Delta has only lost more than 10 games once since Heeb took over in 2018, and across the past three seasons, the Bobcats have averaged just four losses each year.

A lot of that consistency has to do with a team’s ability to handle turnover between seasons. Losing Kendall Holweg after the 2022 state championship loss, the Bobcats recovered and made a state playoff run to the quarterfinal led largely by sister and then-junior Presley Holweg.

This year, they return much of that quarterfinal talent. Along with Holweg, the Bobcats return more key contributors in Jade Berry and Addison Nichols who helped push Delta deep into the playoffs last season.

For Delta, the hope is that this returning talent can create a guiding sense of leadership and help the Bobcats more easily navigate the hurdles of the upcoming season. Heeb talked specifically about the improvement of one of his junior guards over the summer.

"That's the thing about this group,” Heeb said. “That's one of the worst games I've ever seen Jade Berry play, and she’s had the best summer that I've ever seen from her since I've been coaching her.

“She put in some work this summer. I mean, they all did, but Jade Berry especially came back, and she's like a whole different animal now.”

With the theme of both new and old faces returning, Heeb’s squad has an opportunity to make waves once again in the postseason.

While it’s always tough to battle expectations, the veteran coach has his eyes set on something more as the start of the season quickly approaches.

“You can't guarantee a state title,” Heeb said. “My ultimate goal every year is to be one of the three or four teams that's truly got a chance to win the state title. You've got to win four or five tough games in a row, right?

“There might be a team out there that could be good enough to beat the No. 1 team on any given night, but they're not good enough to run the table. There's only a handful of teams good enough to run that table, and I just want to be one of those teams with a shot at the end.”