SLIPPERY ROCK — Senior leadership is vital — especially when nine freshmen are on the roster.

Guards Julie Molloy, Nikki Presto, Chere' Marshall and Sandra Busser are seniors on this year's Slippery Rock University women's basketball team — and there will be plenty of youth following them around.

"Our seniors will dictate what type of work ethic we'll have," said 10th-year coach Laurel Heilman. "They'll determine how hard we'll practice and play, how we handle ourselves in the community and represent the university."

Coming off an 11-16 season, SRU is seeking its first PSAC West playoff appearance since 2005. The Rock hasn't had a winning season since 2001-02, when it was 15-11.

"These seniors have never been to the playoffs," Heilman said. "They know the clock is ticking and they're determined to get there."

Molloy, a Grove City graduate and transfer from St. Bonaventure, averaged 10.4 points per game and is the team's top returning scorer. Presto averaged 9.2 points per game and shot 80 percent from the free-throw line.

Marshall netted 6.5 points per contest and Busser handled a lot of point guard duties.

SRU has won only nine PSAC West games in the past three years.

"It generally takes six or seven league wins to get into the tournament," Heilman said. "We need to step up our game. Julie can be a leader in that regard.

"She's a talented player, but she's been up and down with us. It's only a matter of confidence with her because she has the ability to be a standout in this league."

The Rock was picked seventh in the eight-team West Division in the preseason poll, a fact that disappoints Heilman.

"We only missed the playoffs by one game last year," the coach said. "We were right on the verge of breaking through, and I believe we're still right there."

Five key freshman recruits will go a long way in determining The Rock's fate. They include 5-foot-9 guard Bethany Caudill, 5-10 guard Alex Beatty, 6-0 guard Emilee Vitez, 5-11 forward Amanda Mitkatavage and 6-2 forward Tynesha Lee.

Still, without a lot of size on the court, The Rock figures to get up and down the floor with regularity.

"We want to push it and play up-tempo," Heilman said. "We'll have to keep our players fresh, so some of these freshmen will be thrown right into the fire.

"Our strength is in our guard play. Guarding the post and rebounding are concerns because almost every other team in our conference has a dominant post player."

Butler County players on the squad include 5-11 sophomore forward Haley Geyer from Mars and 5-2 freshman guard Lyndsy Day from Butler.

Geyer transferred from Robert Morris, where she did not play basketball.

"Those girls are here at school and decided to walk on and try to play," Heilman said. "They're working hard, understand their roles and we're glad they're here."

Two other players with area ties are preseason All-PSAC West selections. Butler graduate Amy Achesinski, a junior post player at Mercyhurst, needs only 165 points to reach 1,000. She led the Lakers with 14.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game last year.

Union graduate Bethany Koch is a senior guard at Clarion who averaged 12.7 points and 7.9 rebounds a year ago, along with collecting 73 assists and 49 steals.

SRU opens the season Nov. 15 at Tiffin. The first home game is at 7 p.m. Nov. 18 vs. Seton Hill.

<B>West Division</B>1. California (Pa.) (5)2. Gannon (2)3. Indiana (Pa.)4, Edinboro (1)5. Mercyhurst6. Clarion7. Slippery Rock8. Lock Haven<B>East Division</B>1. West Chester (3)2. Millersville (3)3. Kutztown (2)4. Shippensburg5. Cheyney6. Bloomsburg7. East Stroudsburg8. Mansfield(first-place votes in parenthesis)<B>Preseason All-West</B>Amy Achesinski (Mercyhurst), Kelsey Conklin (Edinboro), Kristina Freeman (Gannon), Bethany Koch (Clarion), Kayla Smith (California), Brooque Williams (California)<B>Preseason All-East</B>Lauren Beckley (Shippensburg), Jenna Craig (Millersville), Janelle Garber (West Chester), Kelsey Gallagher (Bloomsburg), Melissa McQuade (Kutztown), Lutiffyya Muhammad (Cheyney)