DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Time to implement the plan.

Florida State University women's basketball coach Sue Semrau began planning to replace now-graduated guards Courtney Ward and Christian Hunnicutt two years ago.

That's when she recruited Tay'ler Mingo and then Butler senior Olivia Bresnahan.

“I saw them as our future backcourt,” Semrau said. “Go get some guards and let them learn under those two seniors for a year. They served as understudies last year.”

Ward became the Seminoles' all-time 3-point shooting leader and is now playing pro ball overseas. Hunnicutt was named Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

This year, Mingo is FSU's point guard and Bresnahan is part of a three-guard rotation with junior Alexa DeLuzio, who netted 12 points per game last year at the 3-position. Mingo and Bresnahan are sophomores.

“It's tough losing such a quality backcourt, but we've prepared for this,” Semrau said.

Ward and Hunnicutt won a school-record 98 games at Florida State in the past four years.

“I picked up so much knowledge from them,” Bresnahan said. “I'm a definite role player on this year's team and I'll do whatever's needed to help us win.”

Florida State is No. 14 in the preseason AP Top 25 p[oll. The Seminoles have been to seven consecutive NCAA Tournaments and are coming off a 24-8 season.

FSU is playing in the WBI Tip-Off Classic in Daytona Beach this weekend. The Seminoles played South Florida Friday, take on Minnesota Saturday and Arkansas on Sunday.

“We don't have any automatic wins on our schedule,” Semrau said. “We don't want any. We want to prepare ourselves to compete in the ACC Tournament and NCAA Tournament. Plus, our young players will mature quicker by playing high-level competition.”

In a 98-46 exhibition victory over Florida Southern, Bresnahan tallied four points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals in 31 minutes of action.

She averaged 11 minutes and two points off the bench last year.

“I'm not the big shooter and scorer,” Bresnahan allowed. “I'm a penetrator and playmaker and I need to help the team out on defense.

“I'm working on my pull-up shot because I know it's available when I drive to the hoop.”

Semrau concurred with that assessment.

“Olivia is great at penetrating and passing,” the coach said. “She's a long player who gets a lot of deflections defensively.

“When Tay'ler isn't playing the 1-guard, Alexa will move over from 2 and Olivia will take her spot. It's a three-guard rotation and they're all gonna play.

“I see Olivia getting 20 minutes a game, depending on the situation,” Semrau added.

The Seminoles are experienced in the frontcourt this year, with senior post player Cierra Bravard (15 points, 7.8 rebounds per game) a preseason first team All-ACC selection. Sophomore Natasha Howard netted 10.6 points per game.

“We're talented in the frontcourt, but we need ways to get them the ball,” Semrau said. “Olivia can create that.”

Bresnahan is excited about being part of a young corp of players developing together.

“We're comfortabl;e with each other and we're learning together,” she said. “This year is a big step for us, but our development will show over the next couple of years.”