AUBURN — The focus is on looking forward, not on looking back.

After two consecutive conference titles, it would be easy for the Central Maine Community College women’s basketball team to dwell on that success. But this year’s Mustangs want to be defined by their own accomplishments, not those of teams past.

“Winning back-to-back was certainly special and kind of puts a target on our backs,” CMCC coach Andrew Morong said. “This team is pretty unique. They’ve kind of closed that chapter of that book. They’re moving forward. They’re not the teams from the past. They know that. They don’t want to be. They want to be something different. They want to be their own team with their own identity.”

That’s not to say the Mustangs have lowered expectations. CMCC still hopes to challenge for a conference crown, but this group of Mustangs is different from past teams with new challenges.

“I think they have a tremendous upside,” Morong said. “By the end of the year, I think we’ll be better then previous years’ teams in different ways. We’re going to be deeper. We’re averaging playing 12 players per game right now, and that number is only going to grow.”

The Mustangs only have four players back from last year. One of those is forward Susie French. She was a YSCC Player of the Year and a USCAA All-American. She played in 27 games and averaged 18.9 points. Another regular returning is guard Maggie McConkey. She was one of the club’s most improved players last year and played in 28 games, averaging six points.

Jamie Swart (11 games) and Lauren Soohey (seven games) are also back from last year. Both players came off the bench.

The rest of the roster is filled with newcomers, including a number of familiar names from Maine. Mt. Blue’s Gabby Foy has already worked her way into the starting lineup. Madison’s Samantha Bruce is another regular contributor. Penquis Valley alumna Lexi Larson has also earned a regular rotation.

Other Mainers include Madison’s Courtney Taylor, Gray-New Gloucester’s Michele Dehetre and Janelle Thornby from Mt. View. They’re joined by other freshmen from out of state, Jasmine Ramos o f Florida) and Hannah Champagne of New Hampshire.

“I think their basketball IQ is very high,” Morong said. “There’s a lot of girls that know and understand the game of basketball. They just have to learn to how play together.”

One trademark of the Mustangs in recent seasons has been their aggressive defense, and that shouldn’t change this year.

“We have a gritty group,” Morong said. “They’re intense. They’re very competitive with each other in practice and in games. We’re going to get up and down the floor and we’ll be able to throw different kinds of defenses at teams on the fly. That’s something we haven’t been able to do before.”

French, Foy, Soohey and Bruce have all been averaging double figures as the Mustangs have started 4-1, outscoring opponents by nearly 40 points per game. 

 Morong has gone with French, McConkey, Soohey and Foy as regular starters in the early going. He’s rotated a fifth starter between  Bruce, Ramos, Larson and Champagne, depending on matchups.

Despite so many new faces, the adjustments have gone smoothly, even better than Morong imagined. Knowing how diverse a group he has, he wondered how soon this team would begin to gel and work well together.

“They really came into the season with an open mind,” Morong said. “They want to be successful. They know they may not have to be best of friends, but they have to respect each other and mesh well on the court. They’ve done that so far.”

It has Morong exciting about what this team can do and what kind of stamp it could put on CMCC women’s basketball. The team has already started the season strong   and beaten some Division III clubs in exhibitions, including a win Tuesday at Thomas.

“This team has no fear,” Morong said. “They don’t care who we play. They’re happy to be successful. They want to create their own history. I think that’s pretty special. When we get into conference play, they’ll find out how much teams want to beat us. We certainly have targets on our backs.

kmills@sunjournal.com