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Chicago • The BYU women's basketball team's locker room was understandably sober after the Cougars' 59-55 defeat against DePaul.
Players were milling around and packing up their things but also stopping to hug one another. Coach Jeff Judkins sat in the middle, looking weary and heavy-hearted.
But when he talked about the future for his team, Judkins' face lit up a bit.
"Hopefully, we'll get used to this," he said. "DePaul's been in the tourney, so it gave them an edge. But I think we should be back next year."
The still-fresh pain of loss will eventually give way to optimism of a new season, as BYU will look for a chance to get back. And down the road, the future looks fairly rosy.
The Cougars will lose some indispensable pieces. Forward Kristen Riley, the West Coast Conference player of the year, and fellow senior Dani Peterson graduating will leave BYU without a good measure of its frontcourt production. Point guard Haley Steed has one year of eligibility left, but she has not decided whether she'll play again.
But BYU's young players are already in critical roles. Freshman Lexi Eaton and sophomore Kim Parker start in the back court and have already proved themselves in the rigors of conference play and tournament games. Sophomore Jen Hamson was arguably the best player on the court in the Cougars' NCAA Tournament loss.
All three are among the team's top scorers, and they could form a tight core that could give BYU another shot at the Big Dance. And hopefully next time, they won't have to wait five years.
"No doubt our young talent is really good," Steed said. "There's a lot of potential there. It makes a decision easier if I come back, especially now because these girls play well."
That's the closest thing to a hint Steed will give as to whether she returns. Judkins confirmed the door will be open to the point guard who helped the Cougars lead the nation in assists.
And he thinks Steed will walk through that door.
"I think she'll be back," he said. "She's a competitor. She wants to win."
If Steed returns, the Cougars can focus on just replacing their starting post players — by no means a small task, but more manageable than losing their floor general. And role players and reserves such as Stephanie Vermunt, Stephanie Rovetti, Xojian Harry and Morgan Bailey will likely assume greater responsibility and playing time.
Even as the Cougars had their heads hanging down, things could be looking up for BYU basketball.
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Key returners for BYU
• Freshman Lexi Eaton: 10.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.8 apg
• Sophomore Kim Parker: 9.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.3 apg
• Sophomore Jen Hamson: 9.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 57.9 FG%
• * Senior Haley Steed: 8.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 7.2 apg
* One year of eligibility remaining, has not decided