Hired by Franklin in June, first-year women's basketball coach Ashley Blanch didn't get the opportunity to choose any of the players on this year's team.

She says that even if she had, though, the roster might not look all that different.

"(Former coach Jess Darmelio) did a great job recruiting," Blanch said. "I didn't get to recruit any of the girls that we have, but I probably would have recruited a lot of the same kids. Great culture people, which is the first thing that we're looking at. They actually all organized an open gym in July, and they invited me to dinner afterward — so I was able to meet with them ... and that was really cool that they wanted me to be a part of it."

With All-HCAC guard Jordan Coon (15.5 points per game) and fellow senior captain Kate Breeden, as well as juniors Briley Munchel and Payton Seay, joining sophomore Erica Buening (last season's conference newcomer of the year), Franklin has a talented nucleus in place for Blanch to work with. That core should be bolstered by an eight-player freshman class as well as the eventual return of junior guard Lauren Barker, who missed all of last season with a knee injury and is currently working her way back from an ankle injury suffered during soccer season.

But while there is an established group of players in place, many of whom have been part of 32 wins over the last two seasons, there has still been a learning curve for everyone since this summer. Not only are the players getting acclimated to a new staff and a new system, but both Blanch and assistant coach Cyleigh Wilson are making their maiden voyages in their respective roles. A year ago, Blanch was an assistant coach at Hanover and Wilson was playing her final season as a guard at Elizabethtown College, a Division III school in Pennsylvania.

The transition, Blanch believes, has gone relatively smoothly for everyone.

"We're teaching a whole new system, so it's everybody learning something," she said. "And at the same time, myself and Cyleigh (are) also learning how to deal with them, they're trying to deal with us, and then trying to put everything together. Everything is completely new ... but I think they've all bought in pretty quickly."

The buy-in paid some dividends in Monday night's exhibition game at Southern Indiana — a contest that saw the Grizzlies force 20 turnovers against a Division I opponent and come out of the first quarter tied at 19-19.

Blanch told the players afterward that if they can push Division III opponents into 20 turnovers a night, they're going to win more often than not. To that end, ratcheting up the defensive pressure — and the tempo in general — is going to be a priority.

"We're definitely going to be fast-paced, offensively and defensively," Blanch said. "We want to make sure we're speeding our opponent up and making sure they're playing to our pace, rather than them slow us down. ... We're definitely going to be up-tempo; I think we have the right kids to do that, too."

The Grizzlies are ready to turn up the heat.

"I feel like we're equipped," Munchel said, "because with (Darmelio) we were already playing fast. The different thing is (Blanch) wants to press 40 minutes, so ... we've got to be in even better shape than what we were. But I feel like we can definitely get there."

There will be challenges ahead, starting with Friday's season opener against Concordia Chicago at the Spurlock Center. There will be inevitable bumps in the road as the Franklin coaches and players continue to get to know one another. But the general mood is one of optimism, a sense within the program that the hardest parts are in the rear-view mirror and that the potential for the season ahead is limitless.

"I feel like we adapted well," Munchel said. "(Blanch) is learning, we're learning, so we're getting to the point where it's going to be, 'Okay, now we can really go flip the switch.'"