Last year, nobody expected much from the ISU backcourt.

Stacy Frese was gone and sophomore Lindsey Wilson was beginning her first season as a starter, the backup off the bench was a redshirt freshman named Erica Junod.

Of course, expectations started to rise throughout the year as the young duo directed the Cyclones to a team record-tying 27-6 record.

Helping them along the way was senior guard Erica Haugen, who is gone this season.

“People on the outside don’t understand what Erica Haugen did for this team,” ISU head coach Bill Fennelly said.

Junod agrees.

“It’s going to be a tough role to fill her shoes,” she said. “She did a little bit of everything.”

With Haugen out of the picture don’t think the expectations will lower. In fact the bar may have been raised.

Iowa State has been tabbed a preseason No. 2 by one publication, and no lower than eight by most other preseason polls.

“Early in the season [Junod’s] going to be very critical to how we do,” Fennelly said, noting that the Cyclones are returning few players who got many minutes last season. “We’re gonna need some scoring from her.”

In 2000-2001, Junod proved a reliable backup.

In her time on the court, she managed to average 6.0 points per game.

She also proved to be a valuable rebounder, despite being 5′ 7″ tall.

Junod pulled down around three boards a game and had 12 against Kansas State on Feb. 10.

Wilson knows that now teams will focus on her, and Junod, now a sophomore, will get more chances to take the open shot.

“I feel like I have a lot of people that when I penetrate and somebody helps out on me, they’re gonna make them pay,” Wilson said. “Junod’s a great shooter.”

“June had the highest three-point percentage in the Big 12 last year, I think, it was something ridiculous,” Wilson added.

Ridiculous to the rate of making 36 of Junod’s 68 trey attempts – nearly 53 percent of them. In one game, against Liberty, Junod cashed on 7 of 8 three-point attempts. She scored a career-high 23 points, too.

“For me, I need to look at what [Haugen] did and try to imitate what she did and try to excel at my strong points of my game,” Junod said.

And of course, if Junod is having an off night, there is always Wilson.

The junior point guard burst onto the Big 12 scene last year, averaging 14.6 points per game and dished out a team-high 173 assists.

Wilson can also hit the long ball, nailing 63 of 150 three-point attempts (45 percent).

“I feel like she can be as good as any point guard in our league,” Fennelly said.

A nagging shoulder injury last year hindered Wilson some, and offseason surgery has her feeling pain-free and ready to start the season.

Good health will help her improve even more this year, Fennelly said .

A healthy team, plus a youthful backcourt could lead the Cyclones right back to where they always seem to be – playing deep into the Big 12 Tournament and late into March Madness.

“It’s not about how you start, it’s where you finish,” Wilson said.