By Chris Parker
Nancy Ward enters her first season as the head coach of the Richland girls basketball team, but her 25th overall coaching. She inherits a good situation with many key players back from a team that went 16-12 last year.
The group starts with junior Katelyn Cole and sophomore Miranda Moss.
Cole averaged 15.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game last year to go with 101 assists and 73 steals on the season.
“She (Cole) has worked hard on her game this offseason and learned how to raise the level of play in her teammates. Katelyn causes a lot of disruptions on defense and is very crafty on offense. She has expanded her game and has become a consistent shooter from the perimeter,” Ward said.
Moss averaged 15.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in her first season for Richland. She also contributed 58 total steals and 56 total assists.
“Miranda Moss is a sophomore that is a dynamic point guard. She can really shoot it and create off the dribble. She is learning to control the tempo of the game. She understands time and score and who needs to have the basketball in certain situations,” Ward said.
Fellow sophomore Belle Harley will be a key factor in the paint after she averaged 8.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game as a freshman.
“Belle Harley has really come on at the post position. Her footwork is excellent for a player that young. She already has an array of post moves. We look for her to embrace contact this season, finish, and get to the free throw line,” Ward said.
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Two more sophomore guards in Allie Belshe and Abby Latham also return along with junior guard Brandi Allen.
Belshe averaged 5 points and 2.7 rebounds per game last year.
“Allie Belshe will have a big impact this season. She has worked on becoming more than just a knockdown 3 point shooter. She can put the ball on the floor now and hit the mid-range jumper consistently,” Ward said.
Latham will look to expand her production after averaging 1.9 points and 1.1 rebounds per game last year.
“Abby Latham is just a solid player,” Ward said. “She does a lot of things right both offensively and defensively that others might not notice. She handles the ball well and can shoot a high percentage from the floor.”
Senior forward Savannah Gibson along with the sophomore trio of Hana Muse (guard), Abigail Black (forward) and Morganne Ledbetter (guard) will be new to the varsity level.
“The team’s biggest strength will be its versatility,” Ward said. “I believe that as the season goes on this team will be able to adapt both offensively and defensively to whatever is thrown at them and excel. We are long and fast so we will be able to pressure full court and cause disruptions for the opposing team. We also have kids at all positions that can score, so it will be difficult to focus on just one or two. This team is unselfish, so they are willing to do whatever it takes to win.”
Success will partially hinge on how quickly the team adjusts to a new coach.
“The biggest thing is just getting adjusted to a new coach, and way of doing things. We are focusing a lot on technique right now defensively so that we can pressure but yet cut down on silly fouls. How fast they can adapt to the new will be a big key,” Ward said.
Overall, Ward wants her team to just control the things they can control.
“We just want to control the things that we can which is our attitude, effort, and our actions. We are committed to working hard every day, being positive leaders on and off the floor, communicating with each other. We believe that if we do those things well in all areas (on court, in the classroom and community) that everything else will take care of itself,” Ward said.
Richland opens the season Nov. 30 through Dec. 7 in the Frisco League Tournament.
