BENNINGTON, Vt. - Seconds ticked away from the practice clock on the scoreboard at Southern Vermont College's Field House, as head coach Mike Quinn interrupted a full-court scrimmage to talk with a player at midcourt.

Any other group of tired college athletes would have watched the clock in eager anticipation of practice quickly slipping away.

But not this unit, as one of the captains asked for the clock to be stopped so her team could soak up the day's final lessons.

"These girls want to be here, they all want to get better," Quinn said. "This team only won six games last year and they don't want to go through that again. The veterans on our roster are tired of going into gyms and getting beat up on, so there's been a whole new energy level throughout the preseason that I never saw last year."

A season ago, the SVC women's basketball team finished with a 6-19 overall record while recording four wins and 12 losses in New England Collegiate Conference play. The Mountaineers were most successful in front of their home crowd during the ‘08-'09 campaign, by compiling a 4-8 record at the SVC Field House.

Quinn believes the key to success in this new season will be in the numbers. The 2008-'09 squad that won six games only had six players on the roster, but this year's team has 10 names on the lineup card.

But the biggest roster change heading into this year will be at the helm of the program, where Ben Kozik stepped down after finishing with an 8-28 record in two seasons as the women's head coach. Taking over in an attempt to right the ship will be Quinn, who also coaches the softball team and was the basketball team's assistant last season.

"We're all comfortable with coach [Quinn's] style," sophomore captain Alyssa Davis said. "He does his homework and knows basketball inside and out, but he also listens to everything we have to say about what's really going on out on the floor."

Statistically, the Mountaineers' downfall was finishing at the bottom of the NECC in scoring defense by giving up 73.5 points per game.

"We need to get better on defense," sophomore guard Joa Claircius said. "My favorite player is Kobe Bryant, and he always talks about how the best defensive team will always beat the best offensive team. I've tried to learn from that, and we've really focused on becoming a stronger defensive unit throughout the preseason."

Quinn will be installing a man-to-man defense in hopes of locking down conference opponents that had their way with the Mountaineers a season ago.

"In the past we varied from zone and man-to-man schemes," Quinn said. "This season we'll be sticking with one system, and I'm confident with this team's ability to defend. We'll also be throwing some different press looks in the mix to create opportunities off turnovers."

Offensively, SVC finished in the middle of the NECC pack last year by scoring 59.2 points per game. The Mountaineers' offensive success was due in large part to their ability to rip down offensive boards; they finished atop the conference in the offensive rebound category with 16.8 per game. SVC junior Tiarra Hall led the team with 179 total rebounds (7.2 rpg) a season ago and should spark the offense again in ‘09-'10 by cleaning the glass.

"Rebounding is one of our stronger parts," Quinn said. "I think we can match up with anybody in a battle for the ball."

SVC also finished third in NECC three-point shooting last season, with 4.9 triples per game. Davis led the Mountaineers in outside shooting with 42 three-pointers throughout the year, but it was Claircius who carried the offense on her back.

Claircius ended up second in NECC scoring by averaging 18.6 points per game and also led the Mountaineers with 3.7 rebounds a game. The sophomore guard finished second in the conference with 70 total steals on the season for an average of three takeaways per contest.

"Rachel Pannell is another one of our leaders and she'll be controlling the paint down low," Quinn said. "I see Rachel and Tasha Smith stepping up to take a bit of the scoring load off of Joa."

Davis chipped in with a double digit scoring average of 10.4 points a contest in 22 games played. SVC also returns its fourth and fifth leading scorers in Kristen Cummings (5.6 ppg) and Hall (4.8 ppg).

Smith returns this season after missing the second half of last season due to ineligibility, but managed to average 7.1 ppg and 9.6 rpg in only seven games during the first semester.

Unfortunately, the Mountaineers will be without the scoring (14.5 ppg) and passing touch (3.2 apg) of Kayla Whitman this season. Whitman was a two-time state champion at Mount Anthony Union High School and joined SVC halfway through last season after beginning at Norwich University, but will be focusing on her studies this year.

The Mountaineers have added three freshmen - Christie Henry, Kayla Williams and Chelsea Chestnut - in an attempt to fill the holes left by departing veterans. Henry and Chestnut both played their high school basketball careers in Vermont, while Williams is originally from Brooklyn, N.Y.

"There is definitely more chemistry on this team," Claircius said. "We've tried to mix everyone together - freshmen and upperclassmen - into a solid unit. We're not comfortable with losing anymore and team cohesion is something that needs to be fixed for a possible winning season."

The Mountaineers look to start the season on the right foot at Sage on Tuesday at 6 p.m.