A new coach doesn’t mean a drop in enthusiasm for the Ridgeview girls basketball team.

Shan Hartford, who had been an assistant for the Ravens for four years, was named in October to replace Randi Davis, who had been the coach at the school for its first five seasons.

Hartford has set a goal of reaching the top two places in the Intermountain Conference and getting by the play-in round, where the Ravens season ended the last four seasons.

“We want to win a play-in game, or, even better, just secure a playoff berth through the IMC,” he said.

So far, the Ravens are off to a 1-4 start going into Tuesday’s home game with The Dalles, which was after the Spokesman’s print deadline. They lost games last week against Mazama, Crater and Henley at the Crater Basketball Invite in Central Point.

They return to the court Friday against Hood River Valley, which like Crook County and The Dalles, will join the IMC for the 2018-19 season.

Hartford has always loved basketball, having started coaching in youth leagues more than a decade ago, he said. Like Ron Buerger and Tam Bronkey, who coach golf at Ridgeview and Redmond High, respectively, Hartford works in golf at Eagle Crest as his day job. Hartford has been a course superintendent at the resort since 2004.

He is trying to implement more pressure defense than what Ridgeview has seen in the past. On offense, he wants to move the ball up the court as a faster pace. That was on fill display in the 76-31 Dec. 5 victory against Crook County

“Against Crook County we had the benefit of shooting the ball really well,” he said. “I’m kind of hoping that translates into some other games.”

The players say the feel under the new coach is a bit different — but not too much.

“I think we’re more defensive minded,” said junior wing Ashley Hall. “Our defense is so much better that our offense comes much easier.”

The players are comfortable playing for Hartford, said senior post Ciara Pinkerton.

“He knows how we play, so that helps a lot,” she said. “And we know each other really well.”

The team is also helped by its senior leadership and experience, Hartford said.

Having five varsity soccer players on the basketball team who were members of the first Ridgeview girls team to win a playoff game and reach the state quarterfinals is expected to help with leadership in basketball.

“That’s pushing the girls a lot harder because it shows we have the potential for that kind of season,” said senior guard Aspen Jeter.

Jeter is coming off an IMC most valuable player season in soccer and plans to play college soccer at NCAA Division II Concordia University in Portland. She was a second-team all-league player in basketball in the 2016-17 season.

The team still needs to work on its composure, Hartford said, pointing to a season-opening Dec. 2 loss against Lebanon. The Ravens trailed by six points with three minutes to play, but ended up falling 62-48.

“We had a tight game against Lebanon, we just lost our composure at the end,” he said.

Jeter hopes the team’s experience will pay off in the postseason, and they will have a better display than last season’s 7-16 team showed in a 78-31 play-in loss against Wilsonville.

“Every year we get, kind of, destroyed,” she said. “I think, this year, we’re more capable and our work ethic is so much better.”

“This year it already feels different,” Hall added. “We feel we can get past the play-in game.”

— Reporter: 541-548-2186, gfolsom@redmondspokesman.com