From 2015 to 2021, no team in the Big South had more wins than Radford. Over the past eight years, no active conference member has won more combined regular season and tournament titles than the Highlanders' three.

There has been a standard of excellence set in the New River City, and as head coach Mike McGuire enters his 10th season at the helm of the Highlanders' women's basketball program, he's trying to get back to that standard.

"We expect to win here," McGuire said. "We have a school and an athletic department that cares about women's basketball. That's greatly appreciated and I feel that daily when I walk into the building. It shows the standard we hold for ourselves, and there's also an expectation and responsibility that we need to have for the school."

While the Highlanders return only four players from last year's squad, they do have arguably the most important piece back in Rachel LaLonde. The 6'1 senior started 25 games a season ago, averaging 7.4 points per game while leading the team in rebounds (7.0), steals, and blocks.

"On the court, Rachel has some versatility on both ends of the floor that gives us some experience, especially in conference play," McGuire said. "We're gonna need that kind of experience and production from her going into the season and all year long."

LaLonde is the only four-year senior currently in the program, which means she has the added responsibility of helping lead the younger players.

"The fact she's been here for a while, she knows how we like to do things with the program structure. Her off the court impact has been very valuable. I've been very proud of her the last six weeks. Her leadership has been really good."

The 2021-22 season certainly didn't go the way anyone planned. Radford won just seven games, the fewest wins since McGuire's first season in 2013-14.

"To be quite honest, last year was unacceptable," McGuired admitted. "That starts with me. Last year, we just did not handle adversity well at all, whether that was injuries or COVID or a small losing streak."

After the season, McGuire said he wanted to get back to operating based on Radford's standards. That meant recruiting players that fit the culture and institution, on top of having tremendous skill sets.

One of the many newcomers is Ashlyn Traylor, a freshman guard out of Franklin, Ind. who was an all-state selection and scored over 1,000 career points at Franklin Community High School.

"Ashlyn is just a flat-out competitor," McGuire said. "She takes the floor every day to win. She knows how to play at a high level. Ashlyn is going to bring an offensive-minded, dynamic guard to the table for us that we haven't had in the last couple years."

"Right now she's our leading rebounder in practice as a guard, which is very exciting. And I think her mindset is helping to change the team. I'm very excited about her and the type of impact she can have."

Another promising freshman is Olivia Wagner, a native of Crozet, Va. who attended St. Anne's-Belfield School. Despite her youth, Wagner has demonstrated a high aptitude for the mental side of the game, and McGuire expects her to be a key piece in the rotation.

"I've been really excited about Olivia. I think what makes her so good as a freshman is that she's very self-aware. She knows who she is and she plays to her strengths. But I also love the fact that she wants to learn. She is way ahead in terms of understanding the game and situational play. You can just tell by the quality of questions she's asking in practice that she's thinking about it."

Though the Highlanders lost five of their top six scorers from last year's squad, they do return senior center Jackie Christ (3.8 ppg) as well as sophomore guard Carmen Williams (4.6 ppg). Also new to the team is junior forward Trinity Klock, a transfer from South Carolina State who was named to the MEAC All-Rookie Team in 2021.

"Trinity is a phenomenal athlete," McGuire noted. "At the four-spot, she gives us a dynamic that we haven't had the last couple years. I think she understands the system, and she will grow a lot throughout the course of the season. She's gonna have moments where she wows you with her athleticism, with how she runs the floor, blocking shots, and the plays she can make off the dribble."

With so much roster turnover, McGuire has been tasked with trying to build connections on the court as he figures out his players' strengths and weaknesses.

"It's been a major challenge for me as a leader of a program. I've not only got nine new student-athletes but also two new assistant coaches and an athletic trainer. That's 12 new people we're trying to bring into the program. The big challenge is getting everybody aligned on the same page. Can you be clear and specific about what we stand for? How do we want our day-to-day to look? And from there, guiding them on what their goals and standards are to be successful on the court."

It's a process that will take time, focus, and discipline. But the veteran head coach said the mentality of this new crop of players is much better than years past.

"I want young ladies that are competitors and want to play the game to win," McGuire said. "The one thing I appreciate about all nine of our newcomers is that this is a group that talks about hating to lose, more than I've had in the last three years. Those that not just want to win, but want to work to win."

Seven-win seasons are not the standard in Radford, and the players know that just as well as the coaches.

"I think our competitive mindset and winning attitude is much improved from the past few years. At the end of the day, this group wants to win. They are working really hard. I would be shocked if this year is not drastically different, and it better be."