Featured Athletes /// Helias Girls Basketball Team, Helias HS
Exceeding Others Expectations
Last year, the Helias Lady Crusaders saw their basketball sea-
the last game for Helias’ all-time leading scorer Adalyn Koelling and really close to winning that game last year, which left a bad taste in my mouth for a whole year,” said Lady Crusaders head coach Garrett Wiggans. with a chance to go to the Show-Me Showdown doesn’t come for several years. But for Helias, it came this season and against the
“There wasn’t much belief in this team before the season started. A lot of people knew who we had lost and understood what the three seniors contributed to the team last season,” said Wiggans. could do and overachieved by a big margin, showing what hard work and determination can do.” pared the Lady Crusaders for a potentially long postseason run in Class 5. That schedule included playing 15 games against teams that won 20 or more games this year. state champion), Tipton (third place in Class 2), and a game ear- At the Central Bank Shootout in February, they played the eventual state champion in Class 5, Lift for Life. They also had a game against
16 /// May 2025
Story By: Kevin Kelly Photography By: Jason Allabaugh
Helias was battle-tested and ready for districts. “A new and en- ergized team that knew what their goal was, and they weren’t going to let anything get in the way of that,” said Wiggans.
never trailed in the basketball game and their defense forced 21 picked up career win number 100, said it was their biggest win of house, avenging last season’s loss at their place, propelling you to could script it better than that.”
another three-point loss the next day to Fort Zumwalt South. Those tough losses don’t diminish the year the Lady Crusaders had as they hoisted the fourth-place trophy in Columbia in late March. For seniors Maddy Larkin, Alaina Meyer and Kenadi Harrison, it was a second trip to the MSHSAA Show-Me Showdown. They were can’t say enough about these three seniors,” said Wiggans. “They
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