MIDWAY, Ky. - After making a three-win improvement from her first season to her second, Midway women's basketball coach Kylee Gorby-Steward is ready to make an even bigger leap in her third campaign.

"I think it's big things to come," said Gorby-Steward, who led the Eagles to a 16-13 record a season ago. "The growth we saw from year one to year two, I anticipate an increase in year two to three."

Part of that optimism comes from the return of three All-River States Conference players. Sophomore A'Lyrica Hughes is back after making the RSC First Team, while junior guard Jermyra Christian and senior center Jacie Chesser were Second- and Third-Team honorees respectively.

Christian led the Eagles and was seventh in the RSC in scoring with 13.5 points per-game while also dishing out a team-high 3.2 assists. Hughes also scored in double-figures at 12.6 points per-game while Chesser narrowly missed at 9.7.

The defensive end was where Hughes truly made her mark. Not only did she average a team-best 5.8 rebounds, her 3.3 steals per-game were the most in the RSC and tied for eighth-best total in the NAIA, totals she expects to improve upon.

"I can be much better," Hughes said. "It's just (a matter of) my effort and my attitude and just the consistency level of bringing it each and every game."

Consistency and attention to detail seem to be major points of emphasis this season.

"We're putting a lot of focus into the smaller pieces this year," Chesser said. "I feel like we haven't done that as much in the past so we're making sure that we put in a lot of work behind the scenes so that we're prepared when we're on the court."

Returners are also being pushed by a group of five freshmen and two transfers that Gorby-Steward says is the best incoming class she's ever had, which has created great battles for playing time.

"This is hands down the deepest we have been at each position in my time being here," she said. "There's a lot of talent in the gym, there's a lot of competition. It''s making players...who were all-conference last year continue to grow in their craft because they have people that can step in and challenge them."

That group will face a stiff challenge as it looks to move up the River States Conference ranks. 

The Eagles were picked to finish fourth in a preseason poll of RSC coaches. Above them in the first and second spots are East Division foes Shawnee State and Rio Grande.

The Bears were regular-season champions last season before falling 60-51 to the Red Storm, the four-time reigning league champions, in the conference tournament championship game.

In third place was Brescia, which was 2-0 against the Eagles last season and eliminated them from the conference tournament.

But Gorby-Steward says stockpiling talent was done with the expectation of reaching the levels with those schools and she's eager to see how her efforts pay off.

"Our goal is not just to compete, but to put ourselves in position to be in the conference championship, or win the conference championship or get an at-large bid to nationals," she said. "If you're not playing for that, then why are you playing the game?"

The Eagles will begin the season at home against Miami Middletown (Ohio) at 5:30 p.m. today.