After staging the greatest comeback of the first round of last season's National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament, the women's basketball team lost to Kean University in the second round. It was the third straight season that the squad had fallen one win short of reaching the Sweet 16. Coach Carol Simon said the team's ultimate goal remains to go further and win a national championship.

"We've only gotten through two games in the NCAA Tournament, so obviously the biggest thing is that it takes six games to win a national championship, so that's obviously our goal," Simon said. "So six is the magic number, if you get into the NCAA Tournament."

The Judges will have to reach that goal without guard Jaime Capra '08, the team's leading scorer last year with an average of 15.2 points per game. Capra was the University Athletic Association's Co-player of the Year last season as well as the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III New England Women's Basketball Player of the Year.

"We're going to play a team game this year," guard Jessica Chapin '10 said. "We're going to spread the ball around; everybody's going to get their shots and get their points. It's going to be a total team effort this year."

The team also lost honorable mention All-UAA point guard Kiersten Holgash '08, who averaged 4.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, and reserve guard Courtney Tremblay '08, who played in 23 of the Judges' 27 games.

The cupboard is far from bare, however. The team still returns four of its top five leading scorers from last year, including Chapin, who finished third on the team with 10.2 points per game and was a second-team all-UAA selection. Inside players Lauren Orlando '09 and Cassidy Dadaos '09, who were second and fourth on the team, respectively, with 11.1 and 5.6 points per game, also return.

All but one of last season's reserve players also return to the lineup this season. The returnees include forward Amber Strodthoff '11, who averaged 4.6 points per game last season, guard Carmela Breslin '10, who led the team in field goal percentage among players with at least 50 attempted shots last season; and point guard Lauren Rashford '10, who picked up 23 steals in 18 games last season.

"We are really deep this year," Strodthoff said. "What's really exciting is that we have role players, but when the starting five are out, we definitely still have people on the bench that have the same experience, that can score and that can play defense."

Five rookies join the club this year as well. Four of them are at least six feet tall, a fact that pleases Strodthoff.

"They're all so tall, and it's so exciting," the 5-foot-11-inch Strodthoff said. "I remember the first day I came to practice, and I was looking up at them, and I was like, 'All right, this is going to be fun.' I'm really excited because they really add to our athleticism, so they can really get up and down the court."

The rookies include two McDonald's All-American nominees in guard Morgan Kendrew '12 and forward Shannon Hassan '12. Guard/forward Dominique Chen '12, who was a two-time All-Conference selection in the Sunshine League in California, also joins the roster, as does guard/forward Kelly Ethier '12 and forward/center Brighid Courtney '12, who was named to the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Association All-Sectional Senior Team in 2008.

Besides having to face their traditional

University Athletic Association opponents, three of whom made the NCAA tournament last season, the Judges' schedule also includes games against 2008 NCAA competitors Tufts University, Wheaton College and Emmanuel College.

"[The UAA] is going to be strong; it always is," Simon said. "Carnegie Mellon, who was an eighth-place team, is going to be better. They have a bunch of freshmen in. All the other [UAA] teams didn't lose too much. Some didn't graduate any. . Everybody's going to be strong; you can't take anybody easily."

Simon said she thinks avoiding injuries is one of the keys for the Judges to have a successful season.

"We weren't healthy at the end," Simon said. I think even if we did beat [Kean] . I'm not sure we could have gotten much more [in the NCAA Tournament]. I think our bodies just broke down. And again, I think that's a big thing with our depth that's going to help us."

The Judges opened their season Monday against Worchester Polytechnic Institute, but the game ended too late for this edition. Their next match is against Widener University at the Brandeis Tip-Off Tournament Saturday at 6 p.m. They then play either Bowdoin College or Western Connecticut State University Sunday, depending on Saturday's results.