Among the 15 returners are four seniors. The last time the Fighting Scots had that many fourth-year players was the last year they reached the MWC playoffs – 1998. A year ago, the Scots finished fifth, just missing a playoff berth.

      “You win with upperclassmen and returners,” said Bittner. “Freshmen and sophomores come in and help fill roles, but you win championships with upperclassmen. I see no reason why we shouldn’t be a playoff-caliber team. Our team philosophy hasn’t been to look ahead beyond our next game, but I would like to think we’ll be in the championship game with St. Norbert.”

      That would be an interesting matchup. The Scots were the only blemish on the Green Knights otherwise perfect conference ledger last year.

      Leading the way is senior Melissa Gorki (Arlington Heights./Buffalo Grove), who has taken the reigns in her final season. The guard is just 96 points from becoming only the sixth woman at Monmouth to score 1,000 points and at her current pace, the slashing inside-outside threat could reach the milestone before the New Year.

      The Scots are loaded with versatility and depth at the guard position, where they return three with significant experience. Bittner expects good things from her sophomores, including Justine Boone (Geneseo, Ill./Geneseo), a 5-8 point guard,  who could be “one of the best in the league.” Classmate Alison Andrews (Algonquin, Ill./Harry D. Jacobs) will be one of Bittner’s tallest guards at 5-9. She averaged nearly 18 minutes per game as a freshman.

      “The sophomore class really stepped up,” said Bittner. “They’re really playing like returners. Justine will be one of the league’s best defenders and Alison has developed into one of our best scoring threats. That one year of experience has made all the difference for those two.”

      Junior Lynsey Barnard (Pekin, Ill./Pekin), who was used primarily at point last season, will be used at a variety of guard positions. Three-point sharpshooter Katie Sheets (Princeville, Ill./Princeville), a senior, led the team with 42 treys last season and will be in the mix down the road. Junior guard Kelly Sheets – Katie’s sister – is also touted as a player to watch.

      “Kelly is the most improved player I’ve ever seen from the freshman to junior years,” commented Bittner. “The strides she has made has been like night and day. She’ll give us some minutes off the bench.”

      Inside, the Scots return last year’s power forward, 5-10 senior Tanesha Hughes (Peoria, Ill./Woodruff). The loss of rebound record holder Ashley Yeast to graduation means the aggressive Hughes could move to the center position where her strength and athletic ability will provide some inside punch offensively and defensively.

      Finding a rebounder to replace Yeast will require a team effort and 5-10 sophomore transfer Lindsie Pettie (Sherrard, Ill./Sherrard) has the early nod to be one of the main contributors, filling Hughes’ spot at forward. Pettie’s Yeast-like style has caught the eye of the coaching staff.

      Bittner believes a deep bench keeping fresh bodies in the rotation combined with good athleticism will be enough to offset the loss of Yeast’s 1,008 career boards.

      “We’ll need everyone to pick up an extra rebound or two,” projected Bittner. “It’s going to be a group effort. We won’t have just one person picking up 10 rebounds a game. We’re not as tall, but we’re athletic, quick and aggressive.”

      A couple of aggressive freshmen – Keli Jo Hinkle (Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg) and Brittany McCline (Markham, Ill./Bremen) – are receiving Bittner’s praise.

      “KJ is very strong fundamentally and a very good defender,” said Bittner. “She just needs to think offense. Brittany is very aggressive on both ends of the court. We just need to remind her to stay in control.”

      Controlling the opposing offenses will come in a variety of ways – and not just a man-to-man defense.

      “We’re coming up with a number of ways to disrupt an offense,” said Bittner. “We want to be the aggressors, forcing the other team’s offense into something they’re not comfortable with.”

      Bittner may be one of the more comfortable coaches in the new-look MWC. Four conference teams will have first-year coaches, making Bittner one of the league’s coaching veterans. She knows the growing pains they’ll experience.

      “It’s always a struggle implementing a new system,” said Bittner. “We’re much farther along at this stage than we have been in the past because we have so many returners and they know the system. That has definitely enabled us to move at a faster pace and implement new things more quickly. We certainly have the building pyramid advantage.”

      Now all that remains is to see if the Scots can harness the power of the pyramid.