When I was asked to write a column previewing this year's women's basketball team, my reaction was probably what a lot of you might have expected: Pure excitement.

No? That's not what a lot of you were thinking? Well, it should be, because this year, the Marquette basketball team that is most likely to turn some heads is the women's team.

Going into last season, the women were predicted to finish eighth in the Big East. The team had graduated a number of seniors, many of whom were vital to the team's 2007 NCAA Tournament success. Half of the new team consisted of freshmen. They were talented freshmen but freshmen nonetheless.

Coach Terri Mitchell knew her team could be special, but she also knew that it would take some time. So she did what any smart coach does when there is little hope for the present but considerable hope for the future. She threw a lot of minutes at those freshmen – exhibition minutes, non-conference minutes and Big East minutes. The eventual result? Postseason minutes.

Yes, those postseason minutes were in the WNIT and not the NCAA Tournament, but Mitchell knows first hand what playing into late March and early April in any capacity can do for a team. After losing to Kansas State in the 2006 WNIT Championship, the Golden Eagles returned the following year and posted a school record 26 wins.

"When you have that five extra games to play, when you are playing into April . you're finding a lot out about yourself," Mitchell said.

The question is, will this year's Golden Eagles do what the 2006-'07 Golden Eagles did following their WNIT run, or will they revert to their early 2007-'08 season form?

It's a tough question considering that the Golden Eagles do have a few holes in their lineup.

The departure of forward Svetlana Kovalenko and center Kelly Lam will hurt. Lam only saw starting minutes when freshman Paige Fiedorowicz went down with an ankle injury, but she played well when given the opportunity.

Kovalenko's defensive presence (1.7 steals and 0.7 blocks per game) will be sorely missed. And it is questionable whether or not a combination of sophomores Jocelyn Mellen and Jasmine Collins, as well as freshman Georgie Jones can fill the void, at least for this season.

All three are agile, face-the-basket forwards who are talented shot blockers, but only Mellen saw significant minutes last season.

"We need that depth in the post," Mitchell said. "Our guard game is experienced, we have a lot of depth. Our post game, I think people are still trying to figure that out, and I think that's a good problem to have because we have a lot of talent, but the only thing we lack is experience."

The front court might be inexperienced but as Mitchell said, the core of the team is an extremely deep guard unit that boasts unanimous preseason All-Big East selection Krystal Ellis and Angel Robinson, who probably would have been named last season's Big East freshman of the year if not for a certain first-team All-American freshman from Connecticut.

Those two have already garnered plenty of attention from the rest of the Big East as Marquette has earned itself a top 25 ranking in a number or preseason polls. Mitchell, however, won't let a little recognition change her style.

"I think we always have the mentality of an underdog," Mitchell said. "Because that's how I coach."

Underdog or not, this Golden Eagles team looks poised to return to the NCAA Tournament.