Last season, the Jefferson City Lady Jays were undefeated for more than two months and ranked No. 1 on their way to a second-place finish in the Class 5 state tournament.
Again, that was last season.
"Last year is over with, it's a new team," Jefferson City coach Brad Conway said. "It's done, great accomplishment, but it's a new year. We don't want to live in the past, it will be a great memory, but let's focus on today and this season.
"All we can do is take it one game at a time."
The first of those games is tonight when Jefferson City opens the season at Francis Howell. The Lady Jays have to replace a trio of experienced seniors in Caitlin Anderson and Micah Linthacum, who both played on the varsity for four years, and Greta Haarmann, who did it for three seasons.
But there's a wealth of experience returning in junior starters Hannah Nilges, Sarah Linthacum and Kara Daly.
Nilges, a 5-foot-7 guard who will miss at least the first two games with a toe injury, has been an offensive threat from the outside in her first two seasons. Nilges' role will change this season.
"It's going to have to," Conway said. "She's not only going to have to be just a scorer, but she's going to have to create things for herself and for other players. There are times she's going to have to play the point, there are times she'll be off the ball."
Conway believes Nigles has improved on the defensive end of the floor.
"Defensively, she's starting to understand what we're looking for," he said.
Linthacum (6-2) is becoming more aggressive on the floor as she gains experience. She showed that in last week's Jamboree, where she took the ball to the basket more than before.
"She's doing some things in practice that she was tentative to do last year," Conway said.
Daly (6-2), who entered the starting lineup early last season with an injury to Micah Linthacum, grew into a force inside on both ends of the floor as a sophomore. Daly, who reaffirmed her commitment to play softball at Missouri during the weekend, was one of just three sophomores to be selected to the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association's Class 5 all-state team last season.
"She took it to another level and we're looking for her to do that again this year," Conway said. "We know softball is her first love, but we're ecstatic she's playing basketball because she brings so much to what we're trying to accomplish."
Brooke Bates, a 5-6 senior, will be taking over at point guard for Anderson.
"She went against Caitlin the last two years, she went up against one of the best guards in the state and held her own in practice," Conway said. "We're not expecting her to be Caitlin, we just want her to be the best player she can be and she's growing into that role."
Hannah Linthacum, a 6-4 freshman, will also be in the starting lineup.
"She can handle the ball pretty well, she can shoot it from the outside, she's a strong rebounder," Conway said. "She can do a little bit of everything.
"I wouldn't be afraid to put her at the point if we needed to."
Linthacum didn't play like a freshman in last week's Jamboree.
"She's played so much on AAU teams against very good competition, she will be a nice edition," Conway said.
Sakkyra King, a 5-6 senior, started in place of Nilges in the Jamboree.
"We're mixing some experienced kids with some new ones," Conway said. "We know there's going to be some hiccups as the season goes along. There will be some mistakes, we know that.
"It may take us a month to gel and get to where we want to be."
The starting lineup may change throughout the season.
"It may not be a set lineup like we've had the last four years, our DNA is different," Conway said. "There may be nights where we need somebody to have a bigger starting lineup or maybe a little quicker lineup.
"It will depend on who we're playing and who is showing the effort in practice. We're trying to mold them and get everyone on the same page. "We talk about accepting roles, taking roles and we have kids that are starting to find their niche and being productive members of the team."
Other seniors on the roster include Cailin Mooney and Laurine Shoki.
There are a total of 19 girls in the program. The school split played a role in that as of the 10 freshman last year, half are now at Capital City.
"The ones who are here want to be here and our expectations are the same," Conway said. "We've rebuilt Lady Jay basketball over the past four years and we want to continue to go forward. They want to be successful."
Jefferson City, 29-2 last season and winners of 20 or more games in each of the past four seasons, will not play at Fleming Fieldhouse until Dec. 19 when it hosts Troy. The Lady Jays, who have won three straight district titles, are in Class 5 District 8 that will be hosted by Battle.