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Two years ago, the team went on a late run, capped by winning three games in less than 48 hours to win the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament and go to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. Last year, SLU’s A-10 tournament run ended in the semifinals but the team went to Women’s NIT, which it won.

While the trip to the NCAA Tournament was obviously the team’s goal and whetted the appetite for a return trip, if you’re looking for a chance to learn lessons, the six games in the WNIT, four of them on the road, did more than the 45-point loss to Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament. For this team, there are definite lessons to take from the WNIT run.

“I think as you have more games,� said forward Peyton Kennedy, who played in a whopping 40 games last season, “obviously you learn more about each other. Learn more in situational pieces, in different circumstances. I know we all wish, and our goal is to go to the NCAA Tournament again this year. And coach (Rebecca) Tillett always says, if you reach the dream, dream a bigger dream. And I think our dream is to win a game in the NCAA Tournament. I think the WNIT, it built our chemistry. And maybe it wasn’t for last year, but I think it converted into this year too. And maybe in the bigger picture, maybe it was helping us this coming year, and then years to follow for the returners.�

SLU’s women begin their season, like the men, on Monday in South Dakota (“South Dakota is the place to be,� said Tillett), in their case about 60 miles south from the men’s game against Santa Clara in Sioux Falls. The women will be in Vermillion, to face the University of South Dakota. From there, they’ll travel to Des Moines, Iowa, to play Drake on Thursday before playing their home opener against Illinois State on Nov. 12.

“I think part of it was there was a part of last season that was challenging for us,� Tillett said. “And teams have a choice when that happens. They can decide to change their fortune, or they can stay on the same path. And I think last year’s team really decided to change their fortune. And even if you look at our statistics in the WNIT alone compared to other parts of our season, statistically, our defense got a lot better, our discipline got better. We stopped fouling as much, we turned the ball over less. So that focus that we had in the WNIT run is something that we’re trying to replicate earlier this season.�

That’s important because one lesson learned from the NCAA trip is just because you finished one season well doesn’t mean the next one will start well. After going to the NCAAs for the first time, SLU started ’23-24 with a 5-10 record, which actually was a step up from the 3-11 or 6-16 start it had in ’22-23. Getting rid of those bad starts is high on SLU’s to-do list.

“It’s definitely our emphasis,� Kennedy said. “We want to create consistently earlier, and I think we’ve been focusing on that since June, honestly, since the last season ended. I think we have the opportunity to do that, and I think we have the veteran group to be able to do that as well. And we know what it takes to get to that point with different experiences, so I think it’s just on us.�

“We need to have a physical presence from the jump on the defensive end that’ll translate,� said senior guard Kennedy Calhoun, a preseason A-10 defensive team selection, “because it’s no secret that our offense is really good. We have some really good scorers. We have some really good passers, screeners, just everybody has their own field in offense. But defense is where if we can hone in on that in the beginning, then that is going to set the tone for us.�

SLU returns eight players from last season’s team, all upperclassmen. Kennedy, the MVP of the WNIT and a second team preseason all-A-10 pick, led SLU in scoring with 16.9 points and in 3-pointers with 77. Tierra Simon led the team in rebounding at 6.9 per game.

SLU also has some really good freshmen who could make the difference for this team, all guards: Hannah Wallace (Cardinal Ritter), Shun’teria Anumele, Mia Bergstrom and Rita Nazario.

“I don’t know that we’ve had a team recently that I’ve led where we’ve had four freshmen that we’re really excited to give a good amount of minutes to this early in the year, and all four of them bring something unique to our program,� Tillett said. “And then the fact that our upperclassmen are embracing that, that’s something that teams have to be ready to do, is embrace new players.�

“We’re really veteran, but also we have some sneaky little freshmen who are just savvy,� Calhoun said, “and honestly, all four of them can play. Every night, you might see a different five that is playing the whole game, but it’s generally because we have so many women who can do great things. So I’m excited.�

In the exhibition game with Missouri S&T, Anumele started and scored a game-high 20 points.

“She’s assertive on offense, she’s assertive defensively,� Tillett said. “She’s learning every play every day. So it’s really fun to watch her in that space, and she’s earned a ton of respect from her teammates.�

Not a freshman but a newcomer to the program is Mya Glanton, a 6-foot transfer from Indiana State who’s from East St. Louis.

“Mya is going to be a big boost for us,� Tillett said, “both from a rebounding standpoint and also defensively. She makes some really good reads defensively, she’s played the game a long time, and has a good sense.�

Last season might have convinced SLU it can battle for the conference title, but others might need some convincing. Conference coaches picked SLU to finish seventh.

“You never know what the season is going to bring,� Kennedy said. “That’s also the exciting part of the unknown.�