October 18, 2005

     Kelly Heath has played a key role in the process of turning the Suffield High girls basketball team into a winner.
     She hopes to have the same impact at the college level.
     Heath, a 6-foot senior guard/forward, has made an oral commitment to attend William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. She will sign a national letter of intent during the fall signing period Nov. 9-16.
     She chose W&M over New Hampshire, Bucknell, and Holy Cross.
     "I went down there in the summer and just fell in love with the place," Heath said. "The school is awesome and the academics are really good. I love the coach and she said I was her No. 1 choice. When I went on my official visit in September, I met with the coaches and team and we just all hit it off. I'm going to play in a good conference and I'll have a good opportunity to shine."
     W&M coach Debbie Taylor cannot comment, due to NCAA rules, until she receives Heath's signed letter of intent.
     Heath averaged 16 points per game as a junior in leading Suffield to the North Central Connecticut Conference tournament title and a berth in the Class M tournament semifinals. She was selected to the NCCC all-star team and Class M all-state squad. She is 12 points shy of 1,000 for her career.
     Street & Smith Magazine recently listed her as an honorable mention All-American.
     She's been a starter since her freshman year when Danny Sullivan took over as coach and Suffield has gone from 4-16 that season, to 13-10 her sophomore year, to 22-5 a season ago.
     At William & Mary, she'll join a program that has had just one winning season the last nine years. The Tribe was 4-24 overall last season and finished last in the Colonial Athletic Conference at 2-16.
     "They had a lot of injuries last year and that didn't help at all," Heath said. "But they brought in some good recruits for this year and the coaches are trying hard to bring in top-notch players. It's tough to get into school there because the academics are so good. It's not a basketball factory and that's been hard on them."
     "I have a lot of faith in the coaches. Hopefully we can build a winning program and it will be awesome to be a part of that."
     The honor roll student plans on majoring in business at W&M.
     Now, she'll be able to concentrate on having a big senior season for the Wildcats.
     "The last month has really taken a toll on me," Heath said. "Before I was questioning myself - 'Will I fit in? Do I want to be that far away from home?' It was really stressful and you have to look at all the ins and outs with academics and basketball. I'm really happy with my decision."      "I started playing when I was in fourth grade. I love basketball and I'm always in the gym. I've always dreamed of playing college basketball. I've worked hard for it and it has all paid off."