After one of the most successful seasons in Allen Community College women's basketball history, the Red Devils will have a nearly completely new roster take the court this year. Head coach Leslie Crane is eager to see how quickly the young and talented squad can develop.

Welcome to Project Makeover: Red Devils edition.

The Allen Community College women, under head coach Leslie Crane, became a dominant force in the Jayhawk Conference last season, coming within a whisker of playing for the program?s first ever Region VI championship.

But that was then.

And after losing the entire starting lineup and several key reserves to graduation, it meant bringing in a locker room full of newcomers.

Of the 12 players on Allen?s roster, only one ? sophomore guard Mafalda Chambel ? saw playing time last season.

That means growing pains.

We?re very athletic, and we?re very, very young,? she said. ?We?re gonna take some lumps early, and we?re gonna have to be patient as we learn some things. The girls are gonna learn pretty quickly how to play at this level.?

The season, which tips off Friday at the Cowley Classic in Garden City, promises to be a fun one, Crane promises, as the athletes get experience.

?They know they want to win,? she said. ?They just have to figure out how to do it. They?re in the process of learning that.?

IT HELPS having Chambela as the starting point guard. The lighting-quick athlete played in 28 games last season, averaging 6 points and 2.4 assists per game, along with 1.4 steals and 2.1 rebounds. She shot 44% from the field and 33% from 3-point range.

?Last year, she didn?t have to be as vocal as she?ll be this year,? Crane said. ?She?s found a strong voice, and has really done a very good job of becoming an extension of myself on the court.?

Chambel?s ability to get the offense set up, directing her teammates where to be as the half-court offense unfolds, is invaluable, Crane said.

SOPHOMORE transfer Aaliyah Brown comes to Allen from Graceland University in Independence, Mo.

?Aaliyah brings a lot of rebounding,? Crane said. ?She?s good at watching the ball, and going and getting it. She?s learning how to be more of a scorer on the side of the line. She knows how to face up.?

Perhaps best of all, Brown got just enough playing time to want more, Crane said. ?She knows what it?s like to be hungry to play,? she said. ?You don?t have to motivate her to get things done. That?s something our other girls don?t know yet.?

Ja?maya Garland, a 6-2 center out of Gurland, Ark., brings a wealth of talent.

?She?s very athletic, and she?s learning new stuff every day,? Crane said. ?She doesn?t know how good she can be. She?s got the game, the strength, the rebounding ability, all of it.?

ALLEN?S roster will have an international flavor as well.

Guards Delta Shaw, Nikki Gear and Tawhirikura Doyle all hail from different parts of New Zealand.

?Delta and Nikki kind of knew of each other, but they?re all three from different cities and didn?t really get to know each other until they got here,? Crane said. ?It?s been rather fun to see how they?ve learned about each other.?

All three share another trait: All are good shooters, as are Marta Cutazzo, who comes from Italy, and Juana Rojas, who hails from Spain.

?They?re all really great shooters, but they?re all used to the European style of basketball, a fast-paced game where it?s run, run, run,? Crane said. ?Now, they?re learning about how to create offense in the halfcourt and learning our organization.

?We?re gonna have different ways to score the ball, because we?re slim inside,? she continued, noting Allen lost a pair of signees who decided against enrolling in Allen just days before classes started in August.

?It?s a tough situation, but it is what it is,? Crane said. ?We deal with it and move on. We?ve got 12 great athletes here.?

Soon to be added into the mix full time are freshmen Audrey Peek and Yolaine Luthi, who are on the ACC volleyball team, which wraps up its regular season next week.

?IT?S GONNA be a fun season,? Crane promised. ?With this many freshmen and newcomers, it?s gonna take an adjustment period for everyone. But they?ve done a great job of getting out of their comfort level. As a coach, that?s my job, to push them out of the comfort level.

?They?re learning to trust me, to learn that I know what they?ve got to do to succeed. They?re resistant until they see how it works. They?re buying in.?

After two games next weekend at the Cowley Classic, and two more two more the weekend of Nov. 8 at the Garden City Classic, the Red Devils will get their first home game Nov. 12 against Crowder College.