NORTON, MA- Twelve years separated the hoisting of conference championship trophies for the Wheaton College women's basketball team, the same period of time that elapsed between NCAA Tournament appearances, before head coach Melissa Hodgdon's 2007-08 Lyons ended both droughts during one of the most successful campaigns in school history. Entering her sixth season at the helm, the 2008 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Coach of the Year finds herself in unfamiliar territory.

"It's much easier to motivate someone who's being overlooked or is underachieving, and we've kind of had a knack for that," said Hodgdon. "We've been able to find the motivation to work harder and achieve goals that maybe nobody else but people in our gym thought we could achieve. This year we have a different approach because even within our own team people's goals are different. It's going to take just as much work as it did going from near the bottom of the league to first."

A veteran-laden squad with 10 upperclassmen looks to surpass a memorable season that featured NEWMAC regular season and tournament crowns, an NCAA Tournament berth and a 22-7 record. Notching the program's third-highest win total, the Lyons also set the school standard for conference victories, going 12-1 with seven straight triumphs against league teams prior to the NCAAs. After a 4-4 start to last year's campaign, Wheaton ripped off victories in 18 of its final 21 games.

However, despite the Lyons returning four starters and over 80 percent of their roster, Hodgdon has quickly made sure her 13-member squad understands that what happened last year is in the past. "Last year's over," exclaimed the coach. "We celebrated it, it was an amazing accomplishment, and I made sure they took in every minute of it, but now we're starting from square one. It's a long season. We're at a point right now where everyone is excited to play, but they know we have a long way to go before we achieve any type of success."

Hodgdon, whose staff consists of third-year assistant coach Veronica Jutras and first-year assistants Erica Kovach and Kim McCormack '07, points to three key attributes of this year's team. "We have more confidence than we've had in the past, which is a good thing," said Hodgdon. "We have great leadership, as we're fortunate to have people who walk in the gym and take each day with great value. Finally, the players are selfless, as they're in it as a team and not to reach individual goals."

Last year's season was a breakthrough in many respects for the Lyons, as what Hodgdon envisioned for Wheaton basketball upon her arrival came to fruition. The coach alluded to becoming defensive stoppers, scoring in transition, executing offense and forcing teams to play defense as areas that led to the program's success. Last winter, Wheaton's 67.4-point scoring average was the highest since the 1995-96 season. The Lyons also held opponents to a 57.7 points-per-game clip, which was the lowest average since 1998-99.

Going into this winter, Hodgdon couldn't provide a set lineup, as she indicated there will be multiple looks based on match-up situations from game to game. Certain to be in the mix are three returning captains in seniors Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School), Jennie Pleat (Nashua, NH/Nashua South) and Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy).

Hickey, who is on pace to become Wheaton's all-time leading scorer, already ranks among the program's career leaders in three categories. She is fifth in field goals, sixth in points and ninth in three-pointers. Named to the D3hoops.com All-Northeast region team and NEWMAC all-league squad last season, Hickey became the first junior in program history to reach the 1,000-point milestone. She notched the second-highest three-point percentage (.467) in a season while placing fifth in field goal percentage (.517), sixth in points (394) and ninth in field goals (149). Hickey averaged 13.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists.

Smith is one of Wheaton's long-distance scoring threats, as she is already third on the school's career three-pointers list. As a junior, she posted the program's third-highest single-season free throw percentage (.855) while averaging 9.1 points in 29 starts. Pleat, who is gunning for a starting position, was a key contributor as a reserve last year. She averaged 4.0 points while shooting over 71 percent from the free throw line. Pleat also handed out nearly two assists per contest.

In addition to Hickey and Smith serving as everyday starters a year ago, juniors Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham) and Jenny Champney (Bedford, MA/Bedford) made 28 starts apiece in 2007-08. Bailey tallied the fourth-highest assist total in program history with 130 from her spot at point guard. She also placed eighth in three-point percentage (.394) while averaging 7.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and a team-high 2.1 steals. Champney had a breakout year from her post position, finishing with the second-highest blocks (50) and eighth-most field goals (150) in school annals. She averaged 12.3 points and a team-best 6.6 rebounds.

Vying for time with Champney on the front line are juniors Ida Kruse (Vershire, VT/Rivendell Academy), Stephanie Michals (Fairfax, VA/Saint Stephen's & Saint Agnes School) and Callie Schneider (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin) and freshman Gabbie DePalo (Rumson, NJ/Rumson-Fair Haven Regional). In 28 games, Kruse turned in 5.4 points and 3.6 boards per contest, shooting nearly 44 percent from the floor and 74 percent from the charity stripe. Schneider saw action in all but two contests last year, while Michals appeared in 23 games.

Senior Lauren Gosline (Peterborough, NH/ConVal Regional) and first-year Shelby Pelkey (Chelsea, ME/Cony) are battling for time at a guard spot. Gosline played in 15 games last year. Junior guard Stephanie Walker (Somers, CT/Somers), who made 27 appearances last season, and freshman backcourt player Kristina Paolino (Stamford, CT/Trinity Catholic) will also be used in reserve roles.

Wheaton winds down its final week of preseason with high expectations, as the Lyons are gearing up to host their tip-off tournament this weekend, beginning with Lasell College on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Wheaton, which was given national consideration in the D3hoops.com poll, has seen a considerable upgrade to this winter's slate. The Blue and White faces 15th-ranked Bowdoin College and 16th-ranked Tufts University, the team that knocked the Lyons out of the national tournament a year ago, in addition to playing Brandeis University and William Smith College, squads that are also receiving national votes.

The Lyons will again play a full 25-game slate, including participating in three tournaments before the turn of the calendar year. Wheaton heads to New Paltz, New York, for a tip-off tourney on November 21-22 and Brunswick, Maine, for another two-day tourney on December 30-31. The Lyons then face Wesleyan University on January 3 before opening league play against Mount Holyoke College four days later. The conference tournament begins on February 25.