Ralph Andrews might be new to the position of Palmerton girls' head basketball coach, but he's a familiar face to the program.

For seven seasons, the first-year head coach has been an assistant or the JV coach for both Don Delich and Rodney Strohl.With Strohl stepping down from the mentor role, Andrews seems poised to take over the reins and help to build up the Blue Bomber program."There has been little adjustment needed to take over here, as I'm very familiar with the program and the girls are familiar with me," Andrews said. "The girls know my expectations, which helps, and being an assistant under two great coaches here at Palmerton has helped to mold my coaching philosophy."Last season, the varsity squad won five games, and numbers were so low that the program was unable to support a JV team."It was a struggle to compete in some of our games, but the young players were exposed to a lot of playing minutes at the varsity pace," Andrews said. "We lost only one starter in Erika Beers, who was a presence on the boards and a great leader."The program remains optimistic, as a large incoming group of freshmen has the future of Bomber basketball looking bright.Spearheading the attack for Andrews' crew will be Linnaea Leister (5-7, PG), who was named to the Colonial League's All-Star Second Team last season."She leads by example, and has a phenomenal work ethic and basketball IQ," Andrews said.Hailey Muniz (5-4, G), Tyra Wentz (5-5, G), and Kiranna Ruch (5-7, F), all seniors, are back to lead the roster with their experience. Ruch missed all of last year with an ACL tear, and looks to make an impact.Meanwhile, Taylor Hirochek (5-7, F) and Paige Frantz (5-4, G) return this year as juniors with a wealth of varsity time and will account for plenty of stats on both sides of the ball."Paige and Taylor were two sophomores that saw a tremendous amount of playing time at the varsity level, and their roles and expectations will increase, as they are now juniors," Andrews said.Meanwhile, the coach was quick to point out the tallest player on the squad, 5-10 freshman forward Kayla Cincilla."She is one to keep an eye on, as we lack a big presence on the boards and in the low post," he said. "She has proved early on that she is ready for the varsity game as she competes for a starting spot in the lineup."Andrews is happy with the turnout and the status of the program that he inherits."Our strengths are our senior leadership and our guard play, with rebounding being a main concern for us early on," Andrews said. "We just want to compete in every game, earn a spot in the Colonial League playoffs, and get back to district playoffs."With a 'rebuilding' team, the workload remains the same as always, but Andrews likes what he has seen thus far."All summer, these girls put in the hours of grueling workouts at the gym to become better athletes and better players," he said. "They work for each other, yet push one another to constantly improve."Andrews is looking to emulate several teams in the Colonial League."Southern Lehigh and Northwestern are programs that you want to model your own after. They're both always tough and we get them each twice a year."