CHAMPAIGN – It was considered one of the top recruiting classes of 1996 in women's college basketball.

It would join a team coming off a losing season. A team in need of an across-the-board infusion of talent.

And as the 1996-97 season unfolded, the freshmen would live up to the hype, playing prominent roles for a squad that would win more than 20 games and reach the NCAA tournament.

Sound like Illinois? Indeed.

But the above scenario just as accurately describes the team heading into Huff Hall today to face the sixth-ranked Illini. Marquette has its own group of fab-freshmen-turned-super-sophs.

"They just had a great impact," second-year Golden Eagles coach Terri Mitchell said.

"They" are centers Abbie Willenborg and Vanessa Rieder, forwards Ayesha Rembert and Lisa Oldenburg and guard Kiesha Oliver, a group judged the 12th-best recruiting class in the nation by Blue Star Report. The same publication rated Illinois' class of Tauja Catchings, Casey Leonhardt, Melissa Parker and Katie Coleman (who originally signed with Purdue but left for the UI after gaining her release) ninth.

Just as the newcomers helped turned things around in one season at the UI, the Golden Eagles enjoyed a 180-degree turn in their fortunes last year with a bunch of freshmen who, for the most part, played beyond their years.

From 8-20 the previous year, Marquette improved to 21-10, including a victory in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

"The thing I was happiest with was how they handled the exposure and the pressure of being told time and again that they were a highly ranked class," Mitchell said, "and that they were able to make a contribution. Their egos didn't change. They kept the team as their focus all throughout it."

The 6-foot-2 Willenborg won a starting job by midseason and went on to average 11.3 points and 10.1 rebounds. No freshman in the country had more rebounds than the former News-Gazette All-State second-teamer from Arlington Heights Hersey.

"We really think a lot of Abbie," said Illini coach Theresa Grentz, who reluctantly bypassed trying to sign her out of high school. "I wish I'd had another (available) scholarship for her at Illinois."

Oldenburg, from the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis, emerged as a top reserve and finished fourth on the team in scoring and rebounding.

Oliver, from Racine, Wis., was Marquette's top three-point shooter and averaged 6.6 points while backing up both starting guards.

The 6-5 Rieder, a Milwaukee native, remains a work in progress.

The most highly touted of the group, Rembert, is no longer with the team. The 5-11 Riverside, Calif., native reportedly left for disciplinary reasons and since has transferred to UCLA. She started 26 games as a freshman and finished third on the team in scoring and rebounding.

As the recruiting coordinator under former Marquette coach Jim Jabir, Mitchell played a prominent role in bringing this class to the Milwaukee school. And when Jabir left for Providence, Mitchell understandably was eager to guide the talented bunch as head coach.

"That was the big reason I had no desire to leave," said Mitchell, a Golden Eagles assistant for five years. "I love Marquette, and I felt with this class and future recruiting classes, we could turn things around from the previous year."

Mitchell was right.

Marquette improved by 13 victories, finished second in the Conference USA tournament and knocked off No. 5 seed Clemson in the first round of the NCAA Midwest Regional. The 12th-seeded Golden Eagles bowed out in the next round, 71-58, to fourth seed LSU.

"The biggest thing was that they brought an enthusiasm to win, and I think that was contagious," Mitchell said of her prized recruiting class. "That, and a tremendous work ethic."

The similarities to the Illini don't end there. Each team received a significant boost last season from a transfer player. For the UI, it was center-forward Alicia Sheeler from Rutgers. For Marquette, it was point guard Nicki Taggart from Purdue.

The Golden Eagles' staff had lost out on the Platteville, Wis., native out of high school. But when Purdue changed coaches two years ago, Marquette landed Taggart on the rebound.

It was, in Mitchell's opinion, as important an addition as any for the Golden Eagles. With so many newcomers getting acclimated to college ball and to each other, Marquette needed a strong and steady hand at the point of attack. Taggart, who finished 10th in the nation in assists last season, filled that need.

Said Mitchell: "I think she was a huge reason for our success – leading the team, getting the ball to the right person, her intensity on the court."

With Taggart still around and all those freshmen now sophomores, Marquette is off to a 4-1 start. Two of the wins are over Big Ten schools, Northwestern (81-70) and Minnesota (67-57).

Willenborg and Oldenburg continue to be a force inside, combining for 37.4 points and 21.4 rebounds a game. Primarily through their efforts, the Golden Eagles have outrebounded their opponents by 12.2 a game. That, too, is Illinilike. Illinois is outrebounding its opponents by 14.5.