“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.”