IR girls’ basketball team keeps the ball bouncing

There are still a few more months before local schools get back to their daily routines, and even longer until the winter sports athletes suit up for their seasons, but the girls’ basketball team of Indian River High School hasn’t been sitting back this summer. The Lady Indians’ varsity head basketball coach, John Frye, has been making sure that his team is enjoying the game and keeping active, through camps and summer leagues, in hopes of returning next year with another conference crown.

“Our summer league in Dover has been a great aspect for these girls,” said Frye, “and it’s going really well. The heat’s been brutal, but we had five girls up there in our last game, and they just don’t quit. This is a great experience for all of them.”

This winter, Frye will enter his third year as Indian River’s head coach for the varsity girls’ basketball team, where he’s managed to turn the program around a full 180. This past season, the Lady Indians rounded out a 14-8 overall record, going 13-4 in the conference and 10-2 in the division.

The summer league has pitted the green-and-gold against some talented competition, which they will undoubtedly be tested against this winter, including players from Caesar Rodney, Lake Forest, Polytech and Dover.

Brandi Buchanan, who graduated this past spring, finished as the team’s top scorer last year and was named Henlopen South 1st Team All-Conference and All-State Honorable Mention, and was selected for the Blue/Gold Game at the University of Delaware’s Bob Carpenter Center. She has been helping to develop the young IR team at camps and summer leagues.

“Brandi’s left a great impact on this team with her leadership,” said Frye. “We’ll definitely miss her this season, but she’s really helped the rest of the team step up. Having the kind of heart and leadership that she’s shown is really going to help us down the road. She’s done an outstanding job, especially with the younger girls.”

The summer league has brought many of the rising stars back out on the hardwood during the hot months. Destiny Blake, who shared captain duties with Buchanan last year, has been helping to keep the team organized in the offseason. Keeonya and Keiosha Shelton, along with Shanequa Holden, stepped onto the varsity team as freshmen last year, and have been since keeping their touch on the ball. Chanel Handy, last year’s center, has joined in at practices, camps and summer leagues, too.

The Lady Indians have also been working with Myquasia Goodman and Martazja Dixon, two sophomores who will try to bring their skill to the varsity level this winter.

The summer league began in the middle of June and will play out through July. Later this summer, the team will visit Frye’s alma mater at West Chester University in Pennsylvania, for a team camp, which will run through early August.

“The girls will get the chance to play six to eight games,” said Frye, “and they’ll face teams from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland, which play at pretty high levels. It will really test us, and it’s great for these girls to see a college campus and experience that. We’ll get to see other teams and how they play, which can help us prepare for the season.”

Coaches, he added, get a benefit from the team camp, too, as they often share strategies and tips with each other that could better the team.

“We’re losing Brandi,” Frye noted, “but we’re still a young team. It’s hard to tell this year where we’re going to be. These camps and leagues will help, and the girls have worked really hard. We don’t have a lot of numbers on our side, but we did well with what we had last year. Abby Miller will be coming back to help us out. You never know what kind of talent will be coming up from the middle school each year, but these girls are excited to get after it. A lot of teams in our division are returning great players, so we know we’ll have to be at our best.”

Frye will once again be joined by his father Jack, who coached the Indian River junior varsity basketball team, and Charles Mulliken, who served as assistant coach last year.

“The team’s success over the past years has really been attributed to the effort and attitude of the girls,” said John Frye. “They have a total commitment to the game, and parents in community have done a lot to help out. The girls want to be successful, and they have great attitude and respect. They work very hard, and it all goes back to the kids. It’s up to them to buy into what we bring to them, and they do that.”

This Friday, July 17, the Indian River girls’ basketball team will hold a car wash at the Millville Volunteer Fire Company, on Route 26, from 9:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Refreshments will be available, too, with proceeds helping to pay for the summer leagues and team camps.