Three years ago, Terri Mitchell's Marquette Golden Eagles used a deep run in the WNIT as a catapult to the program's best record ever and an NCAA Tournament bid.

This year, coming off a WNIT Championship, the Golden Eagles are hoping for a similar result.

Returning all five starters from last season's team, Mitchell points to the opportunities generated by a deep postseason run as a basis for higher expectations.

"When you're playing in April, you're getting those extra weeks of practice and finding a lot out about yourselves," Mitchell says. "I think that fed into our hunger. I think this team has very high expectations of what they want to do."

As good as Marquette is, it'll be a tough climb up the league standings. The Big East is among the deepest and best conferences in the country. Connecticut is expected to finish atop the league standings and is a preseason No. 1 choice in many national polls.

The Golden Eagles were picked to finish seventh in the Big East this season and are ranked No. 25 in preseason polls by Lindy's College Basketball and ESPN.com. Mitchell knows her team is getting noticed and won't be able to sneak up on anybody as it did a year ago en route to

"We are on people's radars because of what we did and the national exposure that we received in winning the tournament," Mitchell says. "Especially this spring and summer, I was talking to coaches who knew what we did, and Krystal's name being out there in a lot of national Player of the Year polls.

"We always have the mentality that we're underdogs and that's how we coach."

Marquette's anchor is senior Krystal Ellis, a 5-foot-9-inch guard from Racine St. Catherine.

The two-time All-Big East selection was named to the preseason all-league team this season after leading the team in scoring. Her 19.4 points per game was also the second-best mark in the Big East. In five WNIT contests, she averaged 23.2 points per game; an effort that earned Most Valuable Player honors.

Ellis was not highly recruited out of high school but has quietly and methodically developed into a leader at Marquette ... as well as one of the best players in program history. She enters the season needing just 272 points to surpass Abbie Willenborg for first place on Marquette's all-time list.

Accolades aside, Ellis is more focused on team success. Mitchell sees her taking a much more vocal role with the team in her final season.

"One of her biggest things is that she's always been a very quiet player," Mitchell says. "She's shy by nature but she has made it more of a point to talk. I think the biggest gift she has given us is her effort on the court."

Ellis, though, isn't the Golden Eagles' only option on offense. Four starters return this season, including all-Big East freshman Angel Robinson, who earned major minutes a year ago.

Playing the point, Robinson appeared in all 35 games and made 33 starts. She led the team with 86 steals and was second in scoring with 11.4 points per game.

Mitchell watched Robinson evolve into a leader during Marquette's post-season run and expects her to continue that development during her sophomore season.

"There are a lot of things we threw at her (last year) but we really saw that transformation through the tournament," Mitchell says. "She has started where she left off in getting the team fired up and ready to go."

Also back this season is senior guard Erin Monfre. The former Waukesha South standout has been used frequently as a defensive stopper by Mitchell and is looking forward to taking on more of a leadership role in her last year in a Marquette jersey.

Also returning are sophomores Paige Fiedorowicz and Janelle Harris. Both saw significant playing time last season and are being looked upon to play a bigger role on a nightly basis. Jocelyn Mellen is another sophomore that will see more minutes this year, after playing 18.5 a game last season and averaging 5.6 points.

Mellen and Fiedorowicz also got a number of starts in the post a year ago, adding to their experience.

"Paige and Jocelyn definitely have experience, plus Jasmine Collins and our two freshmen so there are six people and we're trying to figure out our rotation," Mitchell says.

Junior transfers Lauren Thomas-Johnson and Breann Hill won a national championship together at Kirkwood Community College and will bring added height to the lineup.

The Golden Eagles are looking to making a run at a Big East Conference championship - the school's first in basketball. Dates with the Huskies and other conference powers like Rutgers and Louisville await, but for the time being, Mitchell is taking a one-game-at-a-time approach.

On the radar now is the Nov. 15 opener against Oral Roberts at the Al McGuire Center.

"You can't talk about Connecticut -- you've got to talk about Oral Roberts," Mitchell says. "After we get through with them, we can talk about the next game."