HELENA, Mont. -- Expectations rarely waver in the PE Center. 

The Fighting Saints are expected to play hard, buy into their process and improve over the course of a season. Those elements, humming in sync, have led to a lot of success over the past for the women's basketball team. 

This year will be no different, as the Saints once again are expected to be high in the Frontier Conference standings and make another run at the national tournament. Coaches picked the Fighting Saints to win the Frontier, while also recognizing Carroll juniors Dani Wagner and Christine Denny as preseason all-conference picks.

So, expectations inside and out of the PE Center are perpetually trending upward.

"I think obviously our expectations are always high," Saints coach Rachelle Sayers said. "We don't talk a lot about wins and losses and where we want to finish. We talk about the process and how we're going to be better than we were the day before, the week before, the game before. I think that's maybe where we differ a little bit (from most teams)." 

The Saints return a lot of pieces from the team that went 26-8, won the Frontier Conference postseason championship by defeating eventual national champion Montana Western on its home court and made its second consecutive NAIA national tournament appearance and fifth overall under Sayers. 

The Saints graduated major components from that squad, including All-Americans Hannah Dean, Cassidy (Hashley) Kosena, "Big Shot" Britt Johnson and Mikaela Olson. Dean took to the volleyball court this fall as she pursues a Master's degree and will join the Saints team as an assistant coach. 

And there, at the coaching position, will be a few other changes this season, too. 

Longtime Saints coach Gary Turcott retired this past offseason. He and Sayers' rapport led to a fruitful eight years together. 

"For me it was a comfort level of eight years together," Sayers said. "We were at the point where we just worked really well together. We fed off one another. We were on the same page nearly all the time." 

Sayers still has mainstay J.D. Soloman, who will inevitably have more responsibility put on his plate. He, along with the hiring of former player Bailey Pasta and Dean on the squad, give the Saints a savvy group of basketball minds. 

"I still feel that with JD," Sayers said. "He's still a very important piece to our staff, probably more so than anybody. There will be a lot more responsibility put on his shoulders. To have BP and Hannah, two that were great players and played in this program, they're going to be really, really helpful for the younger kids." 

And this season, like so many under Sayers, will be loaded with challenges early on. The Saints have Division-I games against Montana and Montana State, they face some of the top teams in the Cascade Collegiate Conference and travel to Arizona for a challenging slate of games during December, to list a few. 

"I think again, as always, we have a very challenging non-conference schedule," Sayers said. "We're going to get challenged early which is really important because as we know our league is really good."

The season begins with the Purple and Gold scrimmage on Friday night, quickly followed by a home contest against the University of Calgary on Sunday. 

What follows is a look at each player on the Saints roster, broken down by year.

SENIORS

Taylor Salonen
Kalispell, Montana
6-1 senior forward
Past accolades: 2018 Frontier Sixth Man of the Year
Last season: 34 GP, 15.1 MPG, 4.2 ppg, 3 rpg, 43% FG, 33% 3-pt, 79% FT

Coach's thoughts: "Four-year player. Brings a ton of experience and leadership to our program. She had a great summer. She's played a lot out of position last year, backing up the five and playing the four. Probably going to do a lot of the same playing both positions. She's a kid that can really guard. She understands the game as well as any play we have. She's versatile. She's a tough matchup for centers because she's fast. She's athletic. She can shoot. She can drive. She's pretty good in the low post against smaller matchups. We look for Taylor to have a bounce back year from last year. She's shown she wants to have this year be her best year."

Emerald Toth
Bozeman, Montana 
6-2 senior center
Last season (Boise State): 6 games, averaging 1.3 points per game...scored a career-high 23 points on 11-of-14 shooting against Southern Oregon

Coach's thoughts: "It's strange to say she's our other senior because it's her first year as Saint. I think the expectations are high for her not only her expectations of herself but everybody's expectations with somebody transferring from a powerhouse like Boise State to come here and play. I hope everybody keeps in mind it's a transition. She wasn't the five at Boise. She's playing a new position. She's adjusting to our style and to the way we play. She's fit in great. We're really excited about her. She's working hard and she's eager to learn. She wants to help this team in anyway she can and be a part of the process."

JUNIORS

Jaidyn Lyman
Spokane, Washington
5-3 junior guard
Last season: 34 GS, 6.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.1 apg, 35% FG, 32% 3-pt, 77% FT 

Coach's thoughts: "Jaidyn stayed this summer, as did most of our players. She just has improved her ability to score. She understands without Hannah and Britt, she needs to be a scoring piece to our offense. She extended her range. She improved her middle game and her finishes. With her speed and quickness and experience, she's going to have a breakout year. She's going to run this team with a lot of confidence. She's going to look to be one of those players that teams try to stop on every possession." 

Christine Denny
Fairfield, Washington
5-9 junior guard
Past accolades: 2019-20 Preseason All-Conference, 2019 NAIA Honorable Mention All-American, 2018-19 Second Team All-Conference
Last season: 34 GS, 9.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.2 apg, 42% FT, 29% 3-pt, 80% FT

Coach's thoughts: "She's started at every position except the five during her career here. We played her at the point her freshman year. A lot of three and four her sophomore year and now into her junior year she'll play 1-4 for us. She's smart, physical. She's as competitive as they come. Her teammates have given her the nickname Diesel Denny and it describes her perfectly because when she has the ball and she's attacking that rim, she's coming in hard and strong. She's just a winner. She was honorable mention All-American last year and I would be shocked if she's not in the top teams this year."

Dani Wagner
Havre, Montana
5-9 junior guard
Past accolades: 2019-20 Preseason All-Conference, 2018-19 Second Team All-Conference
Last season: 34 GS, 10.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.4 apg, 44% FG, 40% 3-pt, 82% FT

Coach's thoughts: "Freshman year was just a slasher, left-hand driver. By her sophomore year realized that teams had figured that out and needed to widen her skillset. Last year, she was one of the best three-pointer shooters in the league consistently for us. Not only can she slash and shoot the three, but now she can shoot the step-back. She's got a little variety to her shot selection. I think she's going to be really, really hard to guard. I think Dani has put herself in a position to be virtually unguardable if she's in the right mindset." 

Emma Madsen
Great Falls, Montana
5-10 junior forward
Last season: 33 GP, 10.7 mpg, 3.6 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 42% FG, 24% 3-pt, 72% FT

Coach's thoughts: "She's another player that played a little bit of out position for us. She came in and was new to our program and we were trying to teach her a new position. This year, you're going to see Emma really give us some great minutes. She's going to play more of the three-guard position. She's a kid that's going to give us a great spark this year. She's a kid that can score in a hurry. She's a playmaker when she has the ball. She gets to the rim well. She developed her three-point shot and she's in the best shape of her life. We're definitely excited to have Emma back." 

SOPHOMORES

Sienna Swannack
Nine Mile Falls, Washington
5-9 sophomore guard
Last season: 34 GP, 14.7 mpg, 2.8 ppg, 1.2 apg, 33% FG, 21% 3-pt, 54% FT

Coach's thoughts: "She's a kid that I don't think anybody has seen the best of her yet. I think we've seen flashes of her. We've seen flashes her athleticism on both ends of the court. She improved her game. She improved her three-point shot. She improved her free throws. She understands that her competitive advantage is to get in the paint and score over people. When she has that mindset, she can't be stopped. She's a 5-9 point guard and is a 5-8 high jumper. When she gets in the paint, she can elevate over people. Sienna is going to play both the point and the two for us. Not only offensively will you see a new and improved Sienna, I think defensively she's going to be getting blocks and steals and creating havoc in that zone for us."

Molly McDermott
Spokane, Washington
6-2 redshirt sophomore guard
Last season: 14 GP (injured)

Coach's thoughts: "I'm really excited for Molly this year. She's healthy. She's able to play more on the perimeter this year than she did last year. She's a kid that can make shots. At 6-2 on the perimeter, we're going to get her a lot of shots. I think she's going to shine on the offensive glass. I'm really excited for Molly this year. I think she's going to have a great year and really contribute for us."

Nikki Krueger
Kalispell, Montana
6-1 redshirt sophomore forward
Last season: 19 GP, 5.3 mpg, 1.1 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 43% FT, 33% 3-pt, 

Coach's thoughts: "Had some games where she got in and did some things for us. She's in the best shape he's ever been in. She really committed to her fitness this summer. She's strong. She's athletic. She runs the floor really well. If she starts finishing at the rim, there's not many that can stop her. She just needs that experience and time. I think by Christmas and conference you're going to see some really nice things from her."

Kamden Hilborn
Clancy, Montana
5-7 sophomore guard
Last season (Montana State): 26 GP, career highs of 25 minutes, eight points, four assists and three steals while at MSU

Coach's thoughts: "She's going to make an immediate impact. She's going to play the point, she's going to play some two. We're a three-headed monster when you add her to the point guard mix. She brings us to another level defensively with her speed and her anticipation skills. Kamden is a true playmaker. She would really rather pass than shoot it. I think people will be really excited about her perimeter shot. She spent this summer really working on the three-point shot. I know she put the time in and it looks great. It adds a dimension to her game that makes her harder to guard." 

FRESHMEN

Maddie Geritz
Boise, Idaho
6-2 redshirt freshman center

Coach's thoughts: "Excited to see what she can do. She brings another big body to her roster. She has great size. And probably the thing she does a little different than the other two bigs is she shoots it really well. She's still learning how to play with her back to the basket. She doesn't have a lot of reps there, but she's worked hard this summer to improve that. She has range. She can really get going from the three-point line and she'll help extend the D for us. She just needs some game reps and game experience and some game success. She's another one that is going to give us some good minutes this year."3 

Alex Williams
Las Vegas, Nevada
5-10 redshirt freshman forward
"Redshirted last year. She'll play four and five. She's still developing as a player. She gives us great energy while she's in there. She's a great communicator. Her 10-12 foot shoot has improved tremendously. We're excited for her to be back."

Kyle Olson
Three Forks, Montana
5-8 freshman guard

Coach's thoughts: "Kyle was one of the best scorers in the last two years in Class A basketball. She led her Three Forks team to a state championship her junior year and her senior year got them back to the state tournament. She's just a scorer. She's very sound. She's like the Energizer Bunny. I don't think she ever gets tired. I think Kyle has a really bright future here. She's going to be a great scorer for us. She just needs time, experience and the added strength of playing at this level."

Erica Nessan
Spokane, Washington
5-7 freshman guard

Coach's thoughts: "Another great Mead player. She can play the point or the two. She has a great quick release. She has a great fundamental skillset. We have to get her communicating a little more. She's a little quiet on the court. She has a great skillset. We like her ability to play the one and the two and I think she's another one that's going to have a great career here."

Ally Cleverly
Butte, Montana
5-6 freshman guard (redshirt)

Coach's thoughts: She's busy leading our soccer team right now. She's having a great year. She will redshirt for us. When we get her back from soccer, she's going to add some speed and athleticism to the guard position. Her ability to play both guard spots gives us a lot of options." 

Kirsten Koehnke
Sublimity, Oregon
5-5 freshman guard

Coach's thoughts: "She's a little freshman shooter from Oregon. She's one of the hardest workers. She's an absolute gym rat. She's 1-2 hours every day in the gym on top of what we're doing. Always wants to get better. I love her attitude. I love her work ethic. There's no doubt she's going to be a great player for us. I know once she gets comfortable in our system, she's going to do that here as well."

Rakiah Grende
Big Fork, Montana
5-8 freshman guard (redshirt)

Coach's thoughts: "She's going to redshirt for us this year. Rakiah is an amazing, amazing story. I love this kid. She has a heart of gold. She's missed a lot of basketball just due to some serious medical issues. Just her ability to be on the floor is amazing. We feel like because she's missed so much, this year is a redshirt to get her caught back up and get her some experience. She's a big-time athlete. She's got hops. She's got a great jump shot. She could play one through four for us. She's going to be a fan favorite."

Genesis Wilkinson
Newman Lake, Washington
6-0 freshman forward

Coach's thoughts: "She's one of the great Spokane Legacy players. Former teammates include Christine Denny and Sienna Swannack. She's an undersized post player, but when she gets out there and plays you'd never know it. She will own the glass here at Carroll. She's extremely consistent from 10 to 12 feet. She's a great finisher at the rim. She runs the floor well. She's got as long of arms as any player we have. She's a great player. We don't know if she'll play or redshirt this year. She'll play both four and five."