Dan Beck enjoyed his role as an assistant on Ralph Andrews’ Palmerton girls basketball coaching staff a year ago.

That knowledge should help Beck as he transitions into his first season as the Bombers’ head coach this winter.

“Being here just last year, for my first year last year with coach (Ralph) Andrews, it really helped out, with getting to know the girls, and just the system and stuff like that,” said Beck. “So I thought it was a good transition.”

But Beck knows it won’t be easy.

“We have a lot of work to do,” he said. “I can see some of the weaknesses that we need to build on. We lost a couple players last year, a 1,000-point scorer in Linnaea Leister, which is hard to replace.

“We do have a good, dedicated core of girls that did a lot of open gyms over the summer, and we did some training. We were in the summer league. It was very productive, I thought. I’ve got some younger girls, too, coming up that are freshmen that are going to see some time with varsity, which will be nice for a couple years.”

Replacing Leister, who averaged a team-leading 13.04 points per game, will be difficult. Beck is hoping the return of senior Baylee Guedes (6.52 ppg.), along with juniors Emily Recker (4.26 ppg.), Casi Papay (3.92 ppg.) and Kayla Cincilla (5.74 ppg.) — who will all assume greater roles in the lineup — will help make up for her loss. Freshman Brianna Moore and junior Hollis Guedes also are expected to contribute for a team that features 18 girls between the varsity and JV teams, a turnout Beck believes will help the team.

“It’s going to be challenging for them. There are going to be people that are going to push them and try to take their spot, which is good,” said Beck. “Competition always makes everybody better. “The underclassmen will definitely push the older girls, and make them better. You have to work for it. There is nothing given.”

That spirit has been evident throughout many of the preseason practices.

“We have a lot of girls just working hard and hustling,” said Cincilla. “Everyone is just always hustling, going for loose balls.”

As the team’s only senior and second-leading scorer from a year ago, Baylee Guedes has assumed more of a leadership role this season.

“We’ve been working really hard,” said Guedes. “We’ve all been very competitive. We’re doing a lot of running, a lot of drills. So hopefully we’ll be really good this year; I think we will be. We’re working really hard.

“I think we’re much better this year already, because all of us are finally molding together and we’re working well together. And I think since we’re working hard together, it’s just working this year.”

Palmerton’s season ended with a 63-29 loss to St. Basil Academy in the quarterfinals of the District 11 Class 3A playoffs last season.

Beck and the Bombers are ready to get to work to go even deeper this year.

“We want to be competitive in every game,” said the coach. “We want to make sure that we do the right thing. We’d love to make districts and league playoffs, those are two goals for us this year.”

Palmerton will start the process Friday at home against Lehighton.

“I really hope we have a winning season, especially since we have new girls, and I think we’re going to do really well this year,” said Recker. “I really think that we’re going to have a winning season this year, because we’re going to work really hard.”