Despite the lure of being the third women’s basketball program in the history of the CIS to ‘three-peat’ as national champions, it’s back to the basics for the Lancers.

“We may be even more talented this year,” head coach Chantal Vallée said of her 2012-2013 squad. “But we haven’t won anything together.”

Although Vallée believes this year’s recruit class will compensate for the talent deficit left by the graduation of guard Emily Abbott and forward Iva Peklova, she’s concerned that the leadership void created by the loss of Abbott will prove to be the team’s biggest challenge in vying for a third-straight CIS title.