Four returning players and plenty of fresh faces give the Madison College women’s basketball coach Lois Heeren much to look forward to this season.

The WolfPack finished 20-7 last year and return Megan Corcoran, Peyton Trapino, Cheyanne Jo Udelhoven and Shakira Burks to the lineup.

One challenge for them early in the season is that Corcoran and Trapino both play a fall sport.

Corcoran recently became available when the volleyball season ended, but Trapino is still playing with the women’s soccer team that qualified for the national tournament that will be held Nov. 9-12..

Without Trapino, Madison College started the season with two losses. On Nov. 4, Highland Community College defeated Madison College, 74-65, in overtime. Corcoran led the WolfPack with 21 points. On Nov. 1, McHenry County College beat the WolfPack, 78-58, and again Corcoran led the team with 22 points.

Another challenge for Heeren is to find a way to replace the production of Rachel Slaney, last year’s N4C co-player of the year. Slaney, who now plays at Cleveland State University, led the WolfPack in every statistical category last year and was the school’s career scoring leader.

Look for guards Trapino and Udelhoven to increase the volume of 3-point shots, and for Corcoran to post up more.

The eight WolfPack freshmen will also have to step up. When asked, Heeren said that their biggest factor is their work ethic. “They come in, they’re motivated. They’re very eager to learn,” she said.

Despite the motivation, there are going to be road bumps for the new players. “It’s a steep learning curve for freshmen,” explained Heeren.

The team will need to continue to hit outside shots. The WolfPack were 32 percent from three-point range, which put them in the top 15 in the nation.

Co-captains Trapino, Corcoran, and Udelhoven are projected to carry the scoring load this season.

Trapino finished with a .541 shooting percentage last year, good for 15th in the nation.

Udelhoven has a sweet stroke from 3-point range, hitting 40 percent last year.

Corcoran is the team’s top returning scorer averaging 13.3 points a game.