For the Wisconsin women's basketball team, last season brought hope to a program that has missed the NCAA tournament the last three years.

An excellent freshman class carried the team to an eighth-place finish in the conference while experiencing growing pains in the grueling Big Ten season. Although they finished with an overall record of 12-16, UW managed its first Big Ten Tournament victory since 2002 with a thrilling double overtime victory over Indiana.

But the road will remain difficult for UW this season. Though head coach Lisa Stone's squad lost only two seniors from last year's team, the duo will remain tough to replace. Seniors Stephanie Rich and Ebba Gebisa were integral components of the Badger team for the last four seasons, with Rich leaving the team as the school's all-time assists leader.

Easing the transition this year will be the experience earned by UW's freshmen class last season, especially the experience earned by guards Jolene Anderson and Janese Banks, both of whom spent the summer refining their respective games overseas.

Anderson, who was last year's Big Ten Freshman of the Year, played with the U.S. Under-19 team that won a gold medal in the FIBA World Games in Tunisia, an experience Anderson hopes will rub off on her teammates in the upcoming season.

"Traveling with ACC players mostly … I think it helped me tremendously. I went against faster guards in the summer and having to guard them and play with them is something that I think I can bring to this team and get Ashley (Josephsen) and Janese (Banks) to run with me," Anderson said.

Anderson is looking to improve on a freshman campaign that saw her score 17.8 points per game and grab 5.6 boards a contest. This year Anderson is expected to have a giant bulls-eye on her every time she steps on the court, especially with her recent selection as a preseason first team all-Big Ten selection by the media. Yet, Anderson isn't concerned.

"I look at it as an opportunity to get better game in and game out. Finding the open teammate if they double team me, you know, just continuing to work on my game … is something I look forward to," Anderson said.

Anderson's running mate, Banks, may have been overshadowed a bit last year but had a tremendous freshman year in her own right, posting 10.6 points per game while clearing the glass to the tune of 4.9 rebounds per game. According to Stone, much like Anderson, Banks has utilized her summer abroad to raise her level of play.

"Banks has become probably the most improved player coming in to season," Stone said. "She's much more confident with the ball. She's a mature player, and it really has elevated her game."

To go along with the highly praised, now sophomore class is a senior bunch that is in its third year under Stone. The quartet of senior captains, Annie Nelson, Kjersten Bakke, Ashley Josephson and Jordan Wilson will look to continue its growth under Stone.

A returning starter, Nelson was the leading rebounder (6.8 per game) on the team from a year ago and this year will be relied upon to set an example for such a young team.

"Annie provides great leadership. She has become one of our best rebounders and post defenders. We look to Annie to demonstrate her work ethic to the rest of our team," Stone said.

Bakke's play has gained her a notoriety of sorts among the coaches, as Stone will look to use the DeForest native as the muscle down low for UW.

"[Bakke]'s fundamental. She's softened up her game from the standpoint of fundamentals, and feet, and ability to get other people involved. She's becoming noticed," Stone said.

Josephson returns to the team as the leading 3-point shooter in Wisconsin history, connecting at a clip of 40.7 percent while Jordan Wilson, who started 16 games for the Badgers last year, will add depth and experience down low.

Since there are no juniors on the squad, the team will have to rely on another group of freshman to step in right away. Stone is hopeful that this year's class, led by 6-foot-4 Caitlin Gibson can have the same impact as the class from a year ago.

"We had a pretty special year last year with two players obviously getting some postseason honors and a chance to play internationally, but expectations are different every year," Stone said. "If this year's freshman class can contribute like last year['s], it will help us continue to go in the right direction."