The women's basketball team's 2008-'09 season has not played out the way the Golden Eagles originally had envisioned.

Marquette returned all but two players from a team that won the WNIT championship last year but was still picked to finish No. 7 in the Big East in the preseason coaches poll.

It was clear from day one that coach Terri Mitchell knew her players had a great opportunity to prove themselves.

"I know that our team has very high expectations of what we can do this season and what we are capable of," Mitchell said before the season. "We expect great things, and being ranked seventh is a very motivating factor for our team."

Marquette stumbled through its non-conference season, finishing 9-5 including four tough losses in the usually friendly confines of the Al McGuire Center.

The Big East season would be even tougher as the Golden Eagles finished 7-9 in the conference. With a 66-61 loss to Louisville Monday, Marquette wrapped up a ninth-place finish in the Big East. A season that started off with such high expectations left some to wonder what could have been.

"We know we could be a higher seed, but things didn't go that way," senior Erin Monfre said. "It's frustrating to look back and see the games that we could have won and didn't win, but you just have to take what seed you get."

This season, Marquette lost six games by five points or less, including a back-to-back spell at home against No. 15 Virginia and Utah.

The Golden Eagles put together a solid showing in its season finale, and with a win over the Cardinals, Marquette could have grabbed the eight seed and a first-round bye in the conference tournament. Instead, Marquette must now shift its focus to a game with Cincinnati this Friday at 1 p.m.

The Bearcats finished last in the Big East with a record of 13-16 overall but were just 3-13 in conference play.

The big reason Marquette was able to hang tough with Louisville was its defensive intensity, something that will surely be part of Marquette's focus against a Cincinnati team that turns the ball over nearly 16 times a game.

"That's always part of our game plan because we know, getting deflections, we always talk about that being one of our goals for any game we go into, because it makes a difference, and it shows statistically," sophomore Angel Robinson said.

As a team this season the Golden Eagles are forcing 18 turnovers a game, giving them the seventh best turnover margin in the conference at 1.97. The Bearcats are dead last in turnover margin at -2.45.

Senior Kahla Roudebush leads the Cincinnati offensive attack with 16.3 points per game. Roudebush also leads the Bearcats in minutes, assists and steals per game.

The conference tournament could mean more than simple wins and losses for Marquette. With an unlikely deep run in the tournament, Marquette could find itself back in the NCAA tournament conversation.

"If we can go deep into the Big East tournament, you know, the committee could maybe see that we'll have a chance in the NCAA's," Monfre said. "You don't think that's completely out of the picture, but you've got to fight."

Of course Marquette would receive an automatic bid to the big dance if it wins the conference tournament, but the undefeated Connecticut Huskies (30-0 overall) will probably have other plans.