“Heart and desire.” That’s the chant the Lady Indians shout after each huddle before reclaiming their places on the hardwood, and both are shining through as the season tips off. For the first time in at least five years, the girls’ varsity basketball season has started off 3-0, and first-year coach John Frye couldn’t be more impressed.

Coastal Point • Jesse Pryor:
Brandi Buchanan (12) celebrates the team’s victory against Red Lion last Saturday with a teammate while freshman guard Destiny Blake (11) cheers on. The Lady Indians chalked up three wins to start off the season, a vast improvement on last year’s 2-18 rec

“To start the season off this way,” he said, “especially with such a small team, is really outstanding.”

Following a 2-2 preseason scrimmage record, there was some room for improvement, but the girls have wasted no time homing in as they followed last week’s wins over Milford and Red Lion Christian Academy with another one against conference foe Lake Forest on Tuesday.

The Lady Indians’ point margin has been steadily increasing, as they took down Milford, 33-28 last Friday, Red Lion on Saturday, 53-46, then powered past the Lady Spartans of Lake Forest, 46-32.

So what is it about the team this year that’s brought the welcome change from last season’s record? Ask anyone involved with the team, and they will say: attitude.

“After we lost our last scrimmage against James Bennett High,” said Frye, “those old negative attitudes started to surface again. I talked to the girls after that and, ever since, they’ve been showing up early for practices and really helping one another out.”

The players themselves will even vouch for the reasons behind the transformation.

“The attitude and teamwork has definitely improved,” said junior forward co-captain Brandi Buchanan. “In the past, there’d be other players who work around themselves rather than playing with the team.”

“This is the first year since I’ve been playing where we’ve actually been unified as a team,” added senior forward Ramsey Ruether, “and use each other to help all of us improve. We’re more in-tune and look for someone who’s open instead of taking the shot ourselves. It’s made a big difference, and it makes the game fun.”

Communication between teammates has fueled the upbeat morale of the squad.

Equipped with the smallest rosters in the conference, Frye uses what might be a weakness to his advantage, making conversations with the players more personable.

“He makes learning easier,” said Ruether. “He’s given us a good balance of plays and really works with all of us. It’s helped to jumpstart our team, and it finally feels like a complete team has come together.”

The Lady Indians have proven they have composure, pulling out wins from trailing scores at halftime. In their past two games, they were even behind heading into the fourth quarter.

“These girls are strong when they play as a group,” Frye said, “and they have shown that they want it. You can’t make stuff like this happen. They have to want it.”

The girls’ endurance will definitely be tested this upcoming week, with four games in six days. On Thursday, Dec. 11, after Coastal Point press time, the Lady Indians traveled to North Caroline, and they will follow up on Friday, hosting Seaford at 6 p.m. They will get a slight break on Saturday, before hitting the road for games on Monday at Nandua and Tuesday against Woodbridge.

“It’s difficult playing all these games back-to-back,” admitted Frye. “We have to get our plays in at Saturday’s practice, but we don’t want to strain the girls. We’re going to be taking it light, working on conditioning. We have to clean up what we can on the fly. As long as we keep this attitude up and playing our best, we should be able to get through this week.”

After opening their season last Friday with a dispiriting loss to Milford, the Indian River High School boys basketball team followed up with a nail-biter against the Lake Forest Spartans on Tuesday, winning 70-64 in overtime. From the tip-off, Lake Forest made it obvious that they weren’t going to hand the game over easily. Establishing quick cuts and passes through the lane and effortless shots from outside the three-point arc, Lake Forest held a 33-29 lead by halftime.

Coastal Point • Submitted
Junior Keion Sturgis sails to the basket for a layup against Lake Forest on Tuesday night’s game. The Indians pushed past the Spartans, 70-64, in overtime.
“I knew I had to mix it up on defense,” said Indian River head coach Marvin Phillips. “We threw in some man-to-man and zone in there to try to slow down Lake Forest’s tempo. They have some shooters on that team, too, so I had to bring some of our guys out on them.”

Lake Forest senior Zachary Edwards and sophomore Jeffery Purnell combined for seven three-pointers for the Spartans, keeping the margin close.

The Indians exploded on the court in the second half, behind junior Montre Andrews, who followed up his four points from the first half with 12 in the third period alone. A steal and basket from junior shooting guard Keion Sturgis put the Indians back in the lead for the first time in the second half.

As time ticked down, the Indians held a slight edge, narrowly leading 60-59 in regulation, but a foul outside the three-point-line with 4.9 seconds left sent Purnell to the line with a chance to put the game away. No luck for the Indians, as all three bounced around the rim.

The Spartans came down with the rebound and, again, Purnell was sent to the line with three shots, with virtually no time on the clock in regulation. Lake Forest again had an opportunity to win, but cracked under pressure. With one of three made the second time, the Spartans pushed the game to overtime.

From there, the Indians knew they had to maintain composure. Thanks to senior captain and point guard Tyree Oliver’s reliable form at the free-throw line, and a momentum-building, three-point drive from center Jake Mitchell, the Indians conserved the lead through the remainder of the game.

Oliver and Mitchell finished the night with 17 and 16 points, respectively. Andrews led the team in scoring with 20 points, while Sturgis accompanied the winning efforts with 10 points. Juniors Jack Cole and Deshawn Godwin combined for 10 points, too.

The victory was a sweet one for Phillips, who had returned to his alma mater to coach the team this year.

“[Looking at the season] is a lot like when you start a game,” he said. “You really want to be the team to get the first basket. We needed to start off with an early win this year.”

He credited his team’s persistence in Tuesday night’s win.

“We still have some things to work on, but these guys never gave up,” he said.

After hosting a losing battle with Milford last Friday, Phillips said he was aware he had to switch some things around.
Coastal Point • Submitted
IR’s center Jacob Mitchell fights through the Lake Forest defense to lay up a basket.
“I knew Lake ran a 1-3-1,” he said, “and we had to move the ball down low to the corners and get it to Montre [Andrews] and Jacob [Mitchell].”

Following the win, the Indians sit 1-1 for the season and in the conference, with plenty of division rivalry to come.

“A conference win is very big,” Phillips added. “I set my goals at beginning of season. I wanted to go 4-0 going into Christmas break, but I’ll take 3-1, because all of these games are in the South, and winning now will be important later. We’re going to take these games one at a time, and, hopefully, at the end, we’ll be right there.”

The Indians, who dished Lake Forest their second conference loss of the season, will be at Seaford on Friday, Dec. 12, trying to improve their record. The Blue Jays, also 1-1, fell in their opener to William Penn (New Castle, Del.), but upended Henlopen South rival Woodbridge, who will face IR on Tuesday, Dec. 16. Both Indian River games are slated for 7:15 p.m

“We’ve got to look at a lot of things,” said Phillips. “I want to focus on our man-to-man, and transitioning players like Mitchell from offense to defense. We need to find out who can play where, and try players in different positions. Right now, I’m still mixing and matching, seeing who fits.”

Cole showed some impressive countering on defense with late-game steals.

Phillips added that he was pleased with the consistency of talent across the board, even from his younger players.

“I told [Andrews] that every game, he could have 20 points if he just put the ball in the basket. In the first half [against Lake Forest], he missed five layups. Then he came out and played good basketball. I’m not fancy. I don’t care about behind-the-back or nothing. Give me a simple pass and put the ball in the basket. That’s all I want to see.”

Though the Indian River High School Indians’ wrestling team put on a slightly below-average performance at the annual War on the Shore tournament last weekend, head coach Jeff Windish saw it as a teaching tool on a much larger scale.

Coastal Point • Jesse Pryor:
An Indian River wrestler battles an opponent at the War on the Shore tournament this past weekend at Stephen Decatur.
The tournament, hosted at Stephen Decatur High School in Berlin, Md., welcomed 25 schools, spanning four states on Friday and Saturday. Indian River finished 17th, but with plenty of upcoming matches this season, Windish remained optimistic.

“I was not, overall, pleased with our team’s performance,” he admitted, “but in hindsight, we’re starting the season with a very young team. We didn’t have the full lineup, but everyone was able to take something from it, and that’s important.”

Indian River had four freshmen wrestlers enter in the middle range, a competitive class for less-experienced athletes.

“It’s a very tough tournament,” Windish added. “Our guys took their licks and, hopefully, they can learn from it. We definitely saw some positives, too.”

First-year starter and junior Chris Smith pulled out victories at the 140-pound weight class with wins over an Archbishop Curley High (Baltimore, Md.) wrestler and a Sussex Tech opponent.

“Chris showed some mental toughness,” said Windish, “battling back from a first-round loss and rattling off two wins.”

Sophomore Elijah Foreman won three matches at the 152-pound weight class against opponents from Rising Sun High (North East, Md.), Mount Saint Joseph (Baltimore, Md.) and Decatur for a sixth-place finish in the War on the Shore.

“He was very powerful in the tournament,” Windish added. “The biggest thing he’s gotta do is string together matches. In a tournament setting, you can’t have a bad match. He’s got to put positive matches back-to-back-to-back.”

Junior Matt McDowell weighed in at 160 pounds for the tourney and placed third with a 5-1 record on the weekend.

“Matt had an outstanding tournament,” the coach added. “He very easily could have been in the finals. He just made a mistake at the end of a match, but I know he won’t make the same mistake again.”

Senior Bo Wilkinson went 2-3 in the tournament, earning an eighth-place finish. Sophomore Katteem Harmon also had an impressive day, battling to an eight-place finish in the heavyweight category.

“Katteem is really showing the coaching staff that he’s improved,” said Windish. “He’s controlling the match and at a heavyweight position, you really have to grind those out.”

He added that a slip-up like this performance is better for the team when it comes early, as it did, rather than later in the schedule.

On the plus side, the Indians were able to use the tournament as a guide, with plenty of things to look over at practice this past week.

“There were definitely some positives,” Windish said. “We would have liked to finish higher, but we know where we have to work. That was our biggest thing on Monday – working to correct mistakes we made. A lot of the guys felt that they underperformed.”

The team will head out again this weekend, this time, traveling to Lancaster, Pa., for the Solanco Invitational Tourney on Friday, Dec. 12, and Saturday, Dec. 13.

“There are quite a few big teams coming into a tournament, like Solanco,” he added, “and our main goal is to put together a team who, by the end of the season, should be prepared. I’m definitely expecting a better team performance in Pennsylvania.”

Next Wednesday, Dec. 17, the Indians will be tested in their first conference duel of the season, at 7 p.m. at Seaford.
Coastal Point • Jesse Pryor
An Indian River wrestler battles an opponent at the War on the Shore tournament this past weekend at Stephen Decatur.
“Tournaments are important,” said Windish, “but dual meets are critical. Seaford’s coming off a good showing at Polytech, and this meet is going to be a good one.”

That weekend, the Indians will host the “Holy Grail” of tournaments, one of the most highly anticipated showings in the Mid-Atlantic region, Battle at the Beach. Scheduled for Friday, Dec. 19, and Saturday, Dec. 20, the tournament will welcome 22 teams, boasting state-ranked teams from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia and Delaware, as well as nationally-ranked wrestlers.

Among the athletes in the tournament is 189-pound New Jersey sensation Andrew Campolattano, who in his ninth-grade year ranked 2nd in the country last season, an unprecedented accomplishment for a freshman.

Fellow Garden State wrestler Brendan Ard, who ranked seventh last year at nationals, will also compete at the Battle at the Beach. The tournament will run from 12:30 p.m. until 9 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 19, and start at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday with finals at 6 p.m.

“There will be some impressive wrestling this year,” assured Windish. “It’s one of the best tournaments you can see.”

The Lady Indians split their preseason scrimmages 2-2 this week, as they prepared for their new season, which tips off this weekend. While the ladies struggled this past Tuesday at James M. Bennett, they presented poise and teamwork last Saturday, nabbing preseason victories against Colonel Richardson and Snow Hill.

Coastal Point • Jesse Pryor
Sophomore forward Abbey Miller drives through the paint against James M. Bennett defense in a preseason scrimmage on Tuesday. The Lady Indians split their scrimmages this past week, going 2-2.

While new head coach John Frye still had yet to assemble a practice with the entire squad earlier this week, he is piecing together what needs to be accomplished for the girls to return with an impressive season this year.

“We really need to get to the mental part of the game,” he said. “That’s going to get us where we need to be.”

For the past few seasons, the Lady Indians have failed to pull in a .500 record. Frye explained that it’s escaping the negative mindset that will help the girls finally accomplish that goal.

“We want to get away from a disappointing attitude,” he said. “The girls played well last weekend, but when they start to slip, there’s that automatic feeling of ‘Here we go again,’ and that’s when they struggle. We just need to get away from that. We don’t want to get rattled.”

Injuries and vacations have cost Frye a full practice with all team members, and entering a season with fewer than 10 girls is not an easy start.

“Not having everyone at practices is the biggest thing right now,” he said. “We’re doing what we can to get everyone on the same page, though.”

Starter Brandi Buchannan went down with a knee injury in a recent scrimmage, and Frye is determined not to let that turn heads down as the season kicks off.

“We have to keep competing,” he said.

Athletic director and trainer Todd Fuhrmann noted that a quick recovery is likely. Due to prior commitments, though, Frye will still find himself short-staffed this weekend as the girls open the season at Milford.

“We will only have six varsity players on Friday when we go to Milford,” he said, “and five on Saturday, when we host Red Lion Christian Academy.”

He will be looking to the junior varsity team to help rotate fresh legs into the game.

“It is what it is, and we have to go with what we have,” he said.

As a teacher and basketball coach in southeastern Pennsylvania, Frye knows a thing or two about working under pressure, and he hopes to bring the girls together to start the season off right.

“[Captain] Miranda Mitchell will need to help keep the morale up,” he said, “but we’re going to work hard and stay sharp. As long as we stay out of foul trouble, we can come out alright.”

After this weekend, he hopes to regroup, get the team back together and get back in the groove. “I have no doubt that things will work themselves out,” he said.

The girls will travel to Milford for their first game of the season on Friday, Dec. 5, at 7:15 p.m. They will host Red Lion on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 2:30 p.m. before heading to Lake Forest on Tuesday, Dec. 9.

The Lady Indians varsity basketball team had to let go of some aggressive talent last year in graduating seniors like Rayce Rayne and Michelle Givans. But with a new coach at the helm, they’re hoping to rebound into a season with a winning record – something the team has struggled with over the past couple of years.

Coastal Point • Jesse Pryor
First-year girl’s varisity coach John Frye talks to this year’s team. A former basketball coach and teacher from Pennsylvania, Frye plans to bring discipline and experience to the developing Lady Indians.
Head coach John Frye not only walks onto the court with ambition but brings plenty of experience. The retired teacher of 20 years and basketball coach in southeastern Pennsylvania knows a thing or two about the game, and his father, Jack, is assisting the team this year, following up on the work of coach Summer Chorman.

“These girls want to win,” John Frye stated, “and there’s a desire to win. It just needs to be harnessed, and discipline can make that happen.”

The Lady Indians fell well below the .500 line last year, pulling off their only wins against Woodbridge, Lake Forest and Campus Community High School.

“When you only win a few games a year, you have to overcome that attitude that when something goes wrong, saying, ‘Here we go again,’” said John Frye. “To change a losing attitude, you need to win and, in order to do that this year, our team needs to be prepared to do things the right way. We’re going to bring a sense of commitment.”

The girls will open up their season with a tough one on Tuesday, Nov. 4, at Milford, a team that beat the Lady Indians with a combined 64 points in their two meetings last year.

“A lot of teams look at us as an automatic ‘W’ for their team,” said John Frye, “and we want to change that. We’re going to compete this year.”

Each of the players will have plenty of guidance from John and Jack Frye, too, considering they’re working with a squad of less than 10 girls.

“It’s a very small team,” John Frye noted. And a young one at that.

The Lady Indians will stand behind seniors Marnisha Mitchell and Ramsey Reuther, along with Miranda Hooper, who is returning to the court after some time away from basketball. Junior forward Brandi Buchanan should help out the team, along with sophomore Abby Miller. New faces in freshmen Destiny Blake and Kitty Cole may provide a promising future for Indian River, as well.

Although their opening scrimmage against Parkside last week finished with the score against them, there was plenty that Frye was able to observe and, he hopes, correct.

“We came out too fast,” he said. “We came together too late in the second half. But it’s a great teaching tool. Our girls just have to learn the mental aspect of the game. We have talented players, but so do other teams. The girls are going to learn to identify and execute.”

Conditioning will be among John Frye’s concerns with fewer legs to keep fresh on the hardwood. He hopes to initiate an aggressive offense, pushing the ball and placing pressure on the other team.

“You’ve got to be strong offensively,” he emphasized, “but there’s definitely a defensive end to it, too. Our goal is to play .500 basketball, and if we do what we need to, we can achieve that.

“So far, the girls have been great,” he added. “They’ve done everything we’ve asked of them. They’re working hard and coming out on Friday and Saturday practices. If we keep this up, we will be alright. I’d like to compete for our division this year.”

The Lady Indians will travel to Milford on Friday, Dec. 5, at 7:15 p.m. to tip off the season. They’ll follow up on Saturday, Nov. 6, hosting Red Lion Christian Academy at 2:30 p.m.