TOWSON, Md. - Preparing to start his 12th season at the helm of the Tiger women's basketball program Joe Mathews sat down with TowsonTigers.com to answer a few questions about the start of the season.

1. A lot has been made in the off-season about how many new faces the program has. You return eight players from last season, how did they do this preseason?
I felt like our girls made good strides and have definitely shown signs of improvement this preseason. A lot of the sophomores are going to see their minutes increase as they are asked to fill the scoring void left by last year's graduating class. The question is who's going be ready to step up and perform? Game experience is so valuable and it will be interesting to see who can apply it this season.

2. You open the season on the road, where you have had success of late especially in season openers (4-1 in last five including 67-62 win at Western Kentucky last year). What's the key to continuing that success?
A lot of that has to do with your preparation and mindset. Going on the road can be challenging as you play in an unfamiliar venue and in front of a hostile crowd. However, going on the road and away from the familiar can be good because it gives you a chance to bond as a team and become closer as a unit. Hopefully we will be prepared and work as a close unit this time.

3. Nyree Williams had a good first season despite playing the final 10 games of the year with a hand injury. What can you expect from her this year?
I truly believe for a transfer student, their second year in the program is when you see them really exceed. Krystal Parnell and Deree Fooks are perfect examples of recent players who did well in their first year after transferring and really took their play up a notch in the second year. Nyree might need a little more time after being limited in the second half of the year due to the injury but I think she will come through well for us. I think she and Tanisha McTiller, our two most experienced returnees, face the least amount of pressure cause they know what they need to do out.

4. How did your newcomers handle the game plan and adapt during preseason?
I thought all and all the freshmen did pretty well this preseason. They made some freshmen mistakes but that's to be expected. The players really have a passion for the game and that's helped. Because this year's team is so young, we haven't really tried to throw an wrinkles at them and just stuck to the fundamentals and they are picking that up.

5. What's the biggest challenge for the 2012-13 Tigers?
I think the challenge for us this year is two-fold. First because of our youth, we need to work on gaining valuable experience. The second has to do with depth, players who get a chance due to injuries need to step up and take advantage of getting more reps. I think those two things will help us learn to handle adversity and grow from it.