So, where did we leave off? Does anybody remember? 

San Antonio comes to mind; a trophy; a group of women that will live forever in the hearts and minds of everyone who saw them play; a national championship.

Some things have changed in the months since the Ashland University women’s basketball team hoisted the school’s first-ever team national championship in March, starting with the players who will take the floor in Saturday’s season-opener against Cedarville.

Only five names remain from last year’s roster, and seven newcomers replace the others who became household names in Ashland over the past two seasons. 

Some things will be different and some will be the same, both on the floor and, well, on the floor. Kates Gymnasium has been completely redone since the Eagles played in it last, in the NCAA Midwest Regional championship game against Wayne State. 

The 2013-14 version of Ashland women’s basketball is ready to go, and head coach Sue Ramsey could not be more excited to get started with her 19th season at AU and her first as a defending national champion.

The Eagles begin the season ranked No. 15 in Division II.

“It’s been a great preseason, just to have the new ones coming in and meshing with the returners,” she said. “We’ve spent a little bit more time that what we’ve done in the past with team building activities, and the chemistry is phenomenal.”

What about those returners? Guard Alyssa Miller returns as the only senior on this year’s squad, though she has been a leader since she was a freshman. She was a first-team All-GLIAC and GLIAC All-Defensive team selection in 2012-13, averaging 10.3 points, 5.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds. 

Each offseason, Miller has improved as an all-around player, and Ramsey says this summer was no exception. She will be relied on to bring the backcourt skills that were such a consistent part of last year’s run to the national title, and also play some down low.

Along with Miller, the only other returning starter is junior guard Taylor Woods, who played the best basketball of her life in the Eagles’ run to the title. After earning second-team All-GLIAC honors in the regular season with averages of 12.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg and 3.7 apg, was named to all-tournament teams at the Elite Eight and the Midwest Regional. In the national championship against Dowling, she scored 20 points.

Ramsey is convinced she can be even better this season.

“Her ball-handling is just phenomenal, and her on-the-ball defense has really stepped up a lot too,” she said. “Taylor is realizing that she also needs to be the voice because she is our point guard.”

Fellow junior Mel Poorman will also start at forward for the Eagles. She saw some key minutes last year, especially when National Player of the Year Kari Pickens (Daugherty) was sidelined with a knee injury in the middle of the season. She will bring experience and toughness.

“What she really needs to hang her hat on, what we need from her, she needs to play just unbelievably solid defense because we’re not really big,” Ramsey said.

Another key returner is sophomore guard McKenzie Miller, who was the only freshman on last year’s team.

“It is a different role for her,” Ramsey said. “She’s just one year removed from all these freshmen, but she’s quickly an upperclassman. She worked extremely hard during the summer. I always say it’s usually between the freshman and sophomore year that you see the biggest growth, and we’ve seen that in McKenzie. She’s really stepped up her game.”

Also returning is junior guard Chelsea Laporte. 

Of the newcomers, 6-foot, 1-inch freshman forward Suzy Wollenhaupt may be relied on the most for her size. She has had to learn quickly, and Ramsey has been impressed by the strides she has made in such a short amount of time.

“Most of the time, it takes post players a little bit longer to make that adjustment, and we have really seen accelerated growth of her skills and her catching on to things,” she said. “She gets a lot of our attention being the only really true post player that we have that’s healthy, and she responds extremely well.”

Another player Ramsey is expecting to burst on the scene is freshman guard Rachelle Morrison, who she describes as having a high basketball IQ.

Other newcomers are freshmen Maggie Davault, Kelsey Peare, Emma Hostetler and Erin Crownover, and sophomore transfer from Wheeling Jesuit Jamie Sobczak.

The Eagles may have a lot of new faces, but Ramsey expects fans to recognize “Ashland basketball” when they see it return to the court.

“What stat stands out in our winning of the national title?” she asked. “When it comes down to it, it was our defense. Yeah, it’s good to score points and we shot a high percentage and all that, but I think we continue to hang our hat on defense.”

Another staple of Ramsey’s teams is their unselfish ball-movement on offense.

“When we move that ball in the half court and we pass up the ok shot for an even higher percentage shot and we knock down open shots, that’s when our offense clicks,” she said “That’s a standard, that’s an expectation that we’ll always have of Ashland basketball.”

After the opener against Cedarville (5:30 p.m. Saturday), the Eagles host Indianapolis the following Sunday at 2 p.m. 

Notable games on the schedule include the Dec. 18 rematch of last year’s Midwest Regional championship game against Wayne State and the renewal of the rivalry with No. 21 Michigan Tech, which will be televised on CBS Sports Network on Jan. 11.