LEWISBERRY — When Andy Bell took over as head coach of Red Land’s girls’ basketball team five years ago, the Patriots were coming off a 3-62 season.
The varsity had one win.
The JV had one win.
The freshman team had one win.
All the other games, for all three squads, were losses.
That's a bummer.
Slowly but surely, that has changed.
Under Bell, the former Cedar Cliff and Bible Baptist coach, Red Land has gotten itself up off the mat and back into the Mid-Penn Keystone conversation.
Especially this season.
With just one senior on the roster — 5-8 forward Colleen Shuller is a key sub — Bell is counting on a heap of sophomores and juniors to take care of business.
And they have; earlier this season, Red Land beat Lower Dauphin for the first time in recent memory. The Patriots hung with Keystone co-leader Mechanicsburg back on Dec. 13, and after Monday’s 47-43 nip-and-tuck setback against Trinity, Red Land sits at 4-5 in the Keystone and 6-7 overall.
WATCH VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Red Land vs. Trinity
WATCH VIDEO Q&A: Trinity's Briana Betz-White
The Patriots will have a say in who wins the Keystone; they have match-ups with co-leaders Mechanicsburg (Tuesday) and Palmyra (Jan. 20) still on the docket.
Most importantly, the Red Land has everyone’s attention — and this division is certainly no cakewalk, with state-ranked and reigning District 3-AAA champ Palmyra and 10-2 Mechanicsburg currently tied atop the chase — plus the usual suspects, like Trinity.
“Each of the last four years we’ve progressively won more games,” Bell said. “We haven’t taken a step back. We’re heading in the right direction, and that’s going to continue with this group.”
Ah yes, this group.
A sampling …
Junior guard Ashley Carroll averages 6.8 points and has hit 11 3-pointers.
Junior guard Arrion Sorrell averages 3.2 points and she runs like the wind.
Soph guard Bella Ricci averages 10.5 points and has hit 21 3s.
Soph guard Rileigh Devine averages 12.6 points and has hit 23 3s.
Soph guard Brittany Carroll averages 5.6 points and has hit 13 3s.
“They all can run and they call can shoot” Bell said, smiling.
INTERVIEW WITH RED LAND'S BELLA RICCI ABOUT THE PATRIOTS:
There are six sophomores and six freshmen on Bell’s roster. And, he said, the pipeline is fresh, with more troops expected to arrive for varsity practice next winter.
Through 12 games this season, Red Land has canned 78 3-pointers, tops in the Mid-Penn. Pretty much everyone has the green light — but the 3-point attempts come in the Patriots’ scheme.
There are no chuckers here.
“We want to lead the Mid-Penn in 3s,” Bell said. “We had 99 made 3-pointers last season, and we want to double that. Our goal is to get a minimum of 20 attempts a game.”
Bell’s practices, as you can imagine, feature plenty of shooting drills.
“Something like 48 percent of their shots are 3s,” Trinity coach Kristi Britten said Monday after her Shamrocks came from behind to edge Red Land on the road.
“They also have kids who can penetrate, so that’s a really nice combination. You have to defend their penetration so they can’t kick it.”
Red Land made seven 3s against Trinity; Sydney Alderman made her first trey this season for the Patriots, joining the club.
INTERVIEW WITH RED LAND'S RILEIGH DEVINE ABOUT THE PATRIOTS:
Here’s something else Red Land does well:
Take charges.
Against Trinity, the Patriots took three charges — which meant three Crunch candy bars for the kids who hung in there and got plowed over.
“We hand out giant Crunch bars for every charge,” Bell said. “We’re into our third giant box of Crunch bars already this season. They love those things.”
Take a charge, get a giant Crunch bar. Hey, that’s a pretty sweet deal — literally and figuratively.
But that’s how Bell is programming his kids to play: Gritty. Determined. Plucky.
And with a quick trigger-finger to launch shots from deep.
“Coach Bell,” Britten, “is doing a tremendous job with his program.”
A varsity program that has gone from a 1-win team six years ago, to a team banging on the door in the Mid-Penn Keystone — led by a group of spirited underclassmen that has the Patriots thinking big for the next several seasons.
“I expect us to compete now; I really do,” Bell said. “And I really think we can finish the season with a .500 record or better and make the district playoffs. That’s what we’re shooting for.”