AUBURN, Ala. — It was hard for Jence Rhoads to temper her expectations.

After all, the United States women's national handball team was far exceeding its goals, placing high at tournaments and nearing a spot in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Brazil.

Even Rhoads, who gave up a professional basketball career in Europe to enter the USA Handball residency program at Auburn University, was beginning to believe the team could reach the Olympics four years ahead of schedule.

“We were riding on a high,” said Rhoads, a Slippery Rock High and Vanderbilt University graduate. “We had just won a bronze medal (at the Pan American Championships Nor.Ca Qualifier). It was the first medal the US has won in handball in 10 or 15 years.”

And it set the team up for a chance to qualify at the Pan American Championships last month for the 2016 Olympics.

But to get there, Rhoads, 26, who plays center back for Team USA, and the team had to raise $25,000 in a month.

They did and were placed in an advantageous pool.

But things did not go according to plan. The offense fizzled and much more experienced teams defeated Team USA, which placed 10th.

Now, the 2016 Olympics are out of reach.

“Everything happens for a reason,” Rhoads said. “We just weren't supposed to go. It humbled us. We had our eyes opened. Some of us have been playing for less than a year and we were going up against teams with players who have been playing for six years or more. We were very competitive, though, and we showed we could be one of the best teams in the hemisphere.”

Perhaps not now, but later.

The goal from the beginning was the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

But the quick success, spurned on by the residency program that Rhoads joined that allowed the team to play and practice together year-round, had them thinking bigger.

“The bar is set high now,” Rhoads said. “We have more time now to train and work on our skills individually. The focus was so much on the team because we had so little time, that the fine details were sometimes lost.”

Even US Women's National Handball coach Christian Latulippe was impressed by how quickly the team came together.

“We have a great blend of veterans and new players who are learning the game at an accelerated pace due to the residency program,” Latulippe said. “This team is getting better week to week, and over the past year the transformation into a competitive team is remarkable.”

Rhoads made a name for herself on the basketball court throughout her life.

As a point guard at Slippery Rock High, she left with 2,172 career points and then excelled at Vanderbilt where she became the first women's basketball player in school history with more than 1,100 points, 500 assists and 400 rebounds in a career.

She parlayed that into a professional basketball gig in Europe, first in Iceland and then in Romania, and was named Guard of the Year overseas twice.

But after her final season in Romania in 2013-14, Rhoads was looking for a change.

Then chance intervened.

Her mother, Melinda Rhoads, was a member of the United States women's handball team in the 1984 Olympics and attended a 30-year reunion.

While there she heard about the residency program at Auburn and told Jence.

Hesitant at first, Jence decided to try out for the team and made it.

Rhoads is also attending graduate school at Auburn.

“We have a couple of players who are also going to school, but I wish there were a few more,” Rhoads said. “That would give more people incentive and peace of mind to stay. I'm enjoying it.”

What she misses the most, however, is basketball.

She rarely has time to shoot around, let alone play in a pick-up game.

When Rhoads is able to hold a basketball in her hands, though, “it feels great,” she said.

Rhoads has used many of the things she learned on the basketball court on the handball one.

Her position on the handball team in many ways mirrors that of a point guard in basketball.

“The defense is a lot like basketball,” Rhoads said. “The lateral movement and helping out on defense is very similar. Offense is different, though, but the biggest thing for my position is court vision, being able to see the whole court and use both hands to pass.”

Rhoads said the initial devastation of their Pan Am struggles has waned.

Now, she and the team have renewed focus.

“We just try to stay as positive as possible,” Rhoads said. “It really is amazing what we have accomplished in a year.”