“Will to win, refuse to lose.”

Western Reserve’s girls basketball coach Brenda Friend cannot stress that enough.

And that is what her team has given her thus far.

With just two losses on the season, the Lady Riders, who were ranked in the state’s Division III poll for three weeks in a row, are on pace for their best record and finish in school history.

The team had its best record of 21-2 and a district runner-up in 2004-05, but has never made it farther. Last season, the Lady Riders went 18-4 and won the Firelands Conference and a sectional championship, but again, came up short of going to regionals, a place they’ve never been.

Over the summer, head coach Brenda Friend took them to Camp Eastern, which is a tough basketball team camp with some of the best teams in the state. Her team didn’t disappoint.

“I was expecting us to be good, but I had no idea our chemistry would be as good as it is,” said Friend, who is in her eighth year at Western Reserve, but has coached 27 years altogether. “Basically I have a team full of athletic basketball players. I’ve never had a team this deep. I’m surprised how quickly we came together.”

After losing Reanne Montgomery and Lauren Butler to graduation, head coach Brenda Friend now starts her four returning seniors in Casey Molesky, Erica Jenkins, Francesca Dore’ and Jessica McHenry, along with junior Kelsey Wyant, the team’s leading rebounder. She also has two freshmen in Theresa Jackson and Carli Patrick, who are getting acclimated to varsity basketball this season.

The girls have responded with playing great basketball and losing just one game so far this season. Their success carried over to being recognized by the state poll.

“It’s a great feeling because we’ve worked really hard to get where we are and for people to recognize us is a great feeling,” Jenkins said. “It took a lot of hard work at practice.”

Molesky and Jenkins are each averaging 12 points per game, while Dore’, McHenry and Wyant combine for another 19 points a game.

“My five starters are my best defenders,” Friend said. “Defense is going to win you championships. Offense will come and go, you’ll have good nights and bad nights, but you gotta defend if you want to go anywhere.”

Molesky, who leads the team in blocks and is second in rebounds, is having the time of her life.

“We’re like a family,” Molesky said. “We have great chemistry. We get along really well. In practice, we’re always focused. We always make sure we get what needs done. Then we’ll have time to goof around and be ourselves and have fun with each other. My teammates are so much fun to be with. Our team is like one big family and we have so much fun together.”

“We’re all pretty excited about this season,” Dore’ said. “It’s been a really great team to be with. This is probably the most fun that most of us have had playing basketball. The success just comes with our team chemistry. This team is pretty well-rounded.

“We knew that we had a solid group of girls, and that we had some awesome freshmen coming up. We had a little taste after getting past sectionals and making it to the district semifinal, but when we got beat by Genoa, that got us thirsty to go further and further.”

Jackson and Patrick know success, going 33-0 in two years of junior high basketball and it has transferred over already at the varsity level.

“First I was nervous that the team wouldn’t accept me, but they’ve been really nice and our chemistry has been awesome,” Jackson said. “It’s nice to be ranked. We worked really hard so I think we deserve it.

“Playing varsity is a lot more physical. Sometimes I’m nervous to go out there, because I don’t know exactly what to do. The plays are different. Like in junior high, the plays were the same for seventh and eighth grade, but now they’re totally new plays. Other than that, I’ve adjusted pretty good.”

Jackson has adjusted pretty good, scoring 8.9 points per game, and has played more like a senior than a first-year player. Patrick has also made an impact early on.

“Theresa is a good one,” Friend said. “She impresses my entire team. I don’t know that I’ve had a freshman look like her ever. (Carli) Patrick is a little more quiet with what she does. This summer proves her defense is what really stood out with her. She always seems to be in the right place at the right time. They were the leaders of their team.”

Not only have they meshed well with the upperclassmen, but the team has warmed up to the freshmen.

“Our chemistry is really great between all of us. We’re not selfish at all,” McHenry said. “We don’t treat them like freshmen at all. They know the game very well. They help a lot. When we sub people in, you can’t tell what grade they’re in.”

“Our upperclassmen embraced them,” Friend said. “There wasn’t any jealousy or looking over their shoulder. They’ve realized that these kids can make us better.”

The team is starting to get recognized as they were state ranked for the third week in a row.

“Getting ranked in the state this year means people are taking notice of our program,” Friend said. “That won’t mean much, what’s going to mean a lot if we can get this program to the next level and that would be regionals. We need to do something we’ve never done. Until you get out of your district, you’re not going to be recognized.”

Its early-season loss came in non-conference play to Edison three weeks ago, while it lost its second game of the year Tuesday night to sixth-ranked Perkins (D-II).

“Edison was the better team that night,” Friend said. “We didn’t play good defense. (Edison) played an outstanding game and we did not play well. That loss was a good loss, it was exactly what we needed. We learned to not take anything for granted.”

Dore’ also credits the team’s success to Coach Friend.

“Without her, I don’t think we would be where we are today,” Dore said. “She is a great person. She has transformed us into great athletes and put together a well-rounded basketball team. She really knows what she talking about. Words can’t explain how excited we are to play for her. She is so awesome. She makes us excited for practice, which isn’t very common for high school girls to be excited about a practice. She’s always there for us and it’s been a lot of fun with her.”

Friend knows the future of Western Reserve girls basketball looks bright.

“The sky’s the limit with this team,” Friend said. “I tell them all the time, ‘You can’t live on yesterday, you better keep getting better’. We feel that right now, we’re going to get everybody’s best punch. We’re no secret. There is no secret about their talent.”