ANDERSON — Several new faces on the court will bring a different kind of team for the 2009-10 Anderson University women’s basketball season. After losing last year’s senior class that featured a trio of All-HCAC players in Mandy Seward, Mel Hawthorne and Kayla Martin, head coach Marcie Taylor said the Raven team that takes the court this year will be playing with more speed.

“This team can play at a bit of a faster pace than last year’s team,” said Taylor. “It doesn’t mean we’re going to be a run-and-gun team, though. This team also has more depth than last year’s team.”

Raven players have also noticed the change.

“Our foot speed is a lot quicker this year,” said senior forward Tiffany Bowsher, who led the team with 7.5 rebounds per game in 2008-09. Bowsher and junior guard Lauren Leisure—a Frankton graduate—are the only two returning starters on the Ravens this year. Leisure averaged 7.6 points per game for AU, while leading the team with 42 three-pointers. Junior Ellen Thompson will step into a starting role this season after averaging 15 minutes per game off the bench last year. Thompson said the Ravens will need to make wise decisions with the basketball if their new style is going to work.

“We need to keep our heads about us as we’re pushing the ball and make smart choices,” she said. “Usually, when you push the ball, there are more opportunities for turnovers.”

But, according to Taylor, the offense is not the foundation for the team.

“The cornerstone of our team has always been to be very good defensively,” she said. “There were times last year where we struggled to score points. Typically, it’s been our defense that’s kept us in ballgames. We need to get better rebounding right now. We’re not as consistent in defensive rebounding as we need to be successful.”

Coach Taylor welcomes a recruiting class that features six freshman and one transfer student. Two of those incoming freshmen—guards Amy and Ashley Wuestefeld—will be in the starting lineup when AU travels to St. Mary’s for tonight’s season opener.

“They’ve really adjusted very quickly to the speed and physicality of the college game,” said Taylor.

Senior guard Shawna Wuethrich, who’s back for her final season after battling injuries last year, said that it will take time for the newcomers to gel with the veteran players.

“We’re just getting used to learning how to play with the younger players. We’re learning what they do and they’re learning what we do,” she said. “It’ll take practice to learn how to play together on the court. As the year goes, on it’s going to get better. It’s going well so far; they’re doing a great job.”

Based on the preseason HCAC polls, expectations wouldn’t be high for the Ravens this season, who were picked to finish sixth.

“It didn’t surprise me that we were picked there,” said Taylor. “Those three players we graduated were 55 percent of our scoring from last year, and they were fairly dominant players. We didn’t have a deep bench last year. We played a handful of players for a lot of minutes.”

Still, the Ravens weren’t happy to see their team ranked that low in the preseason polls.

“We only lost three players—granted, they were all starters—but I think people are judging us based on the players we lost, not the players we have,” said Bowsher. “We’re like a sleeper team in the conference this year. I think we’ll definitely surprise people.”

Coach Taylor shared Bowsher’s optimism for the upcoming season.

“I really like this team. I like the makeup of it, I like their work ethic, I like their chemistry and I like their coachability,” she said. “I believe they’re going to be really solid midway through the season. Not that we’ll be bad at the start of the season, but coming together takes time with a young team. We’re going to be a solid team and real competitive during the season.”

After tonight’s road contest in South Bend, the Ravens will return home to host the AU Tip Off Tournament this weekend. A huge test awaits the Ravens next Tuesday when No. 12 DePauw travels to the O.C. Lewis Gymnasium.