Mary Evans made a declaration last summer that the Valparaiso women’s basketball program was going to embrace a “Year One Mentality” during the 2022-23 season.

After a tumultuous end to the 2021-22 campaign, Evans wanted to get the program back to basics entering her fifth season as Valpo’s head coach, even if that meant going back to the drawing board.

She wasn’t far off.

Valparaiso went 8-24 in Evans’ first year at the helm in 2018-19 and after Thursday’s season-ending loss to UIC in the first round of Hoops in the Heartland, the Beacons finished this season with a 7-23 record.

So, what awaits Valparaiso heading into “Year Two?” Here’s a Way-Too-Early look at the 2023-24 season.