Senior Alex Hoover shoots the ball on Monday in a game against Fontbonne University.

The 2010 Division III National Champion Bears, currently ranked No. 7 in the d3hoops.com national top-25 poll, are adjusting to play without their top scorers from the past three seasons: Zoë Unruh, Jaimie McFarlin and Janice Evans. McFarlin and Evans were also the leading rebounders for Wash. U. dating back to the 2007-2008 season.

The Bears, who dominated opponents last season with an inside-out attack, will rely on their backcourt led by returning starters, senior Alex Hoover and junior Bethany Morrison, the point and off-guards, respectively, for the Bears last season. Senior forwards Kathryn Berger and Hannah Cusworth and junior guard Dani Hoover round out the initial starting five for the Bears this season.

“You’ve got two people that started last year and three that didn’t, and I’m very confident that they’ll be fine. It is different getting used to that starting role. You can’t skip over it. You have to get through it,” head coach Nancy Fahey said.

Growing pains were evident in the Bears’ opening game of the season against Fontbonne University on Monday night. It took more than three minutes for either team to score, but Alex Hoover finally connected on a mid-range jumper to give the Bears a 2-0 lead.

“I think we played pretty well overall. We definitely started out, I’d like to say, a little jittery. We got our nerves out for the first game of the year,” said Alex Hoover, a co-captain. “It’s definitely a little different ’cause you don’t have people with as much experience, but I think playing last night really helped us out…we’re kind of going to gain that experience as we go on throughout the season.”

Fontbonne played even with the Bears until the end of the first half, but Wash. U. closed the period with a 17-7 run over the final 7:08 to create some breathing room at the break.

The Bears emerged from the locker room a different, more confident team, extending the lead over Fontbonne to 50-22 after a 15-0 run in the first 8:09 of the half. Wash. U. went on to win the game 77-48.

Alex Hoover led the team with 12 points, three assists and two blocks. Junior guard Claire Schaeperkoetter also added 12 points in the win, and Morrison contributed seven of the team’s 22 assists while committing just one turnover.

The developing Wash. U. frontcourt also contributed to the win. Freshman Jordan Rettig scored 12 points in her collegiate debut and grabbed three rebounds while junior Brianne Monahan added nine points and five rebounds in just 12 minutes.

“Our posts are developing,” Alex Hoover said. “We definitely have posts who have not had a lot of playing time yet, but I think we’re going to be an inside-out team just like last year.”

Fahey was also impressed with her team’s progression, especially with the much-improved team defense when compared to the Bears’ 66-53 preseason loss to Division I Bradley University on Nov. 6.

Monday’s game also highlighted the added challenge of playing as the defending national champion.

“We hung a banner last year, so the energy that we’re going to get from every team is going to be very high, and I give credit to Fontbonne because they came out with that energy level,” Fahey said.

The Bears’ tough schedule this year will test the team’s ability to forge its new identity and to match the intensity of opponents looking to upset the defending champions. The team continues its season at the annual Tip-Off Classic on Nov. 20, which always features powerhouses Wash. U., Illinois Wesleyan University and this year’s host DePauw University. The Bears open play against No. 3 IWU and face No. 12 DePauw on Nov. 21.

“One thing we recognize [is that] we have to embrace who we are, and the only way you can do that is to continue to play,” Fahey said. “Teams like Illinois Wesleyan and DePauw, who are obviously really good programs [are] going to give us a chance to hopefully keep developing our personality.”

The Bears will also face No. 2 Hope College at the Ohio Wesleyan Tournament on Dec. 29 and No. 5 University of Rochester twice during conference play.

“[Coach Fahey] always says that we’re a new team. We don’t have to defend anything,” Alex Hoover said. “We need to focus on the now and not last year.”