PERU, Neb. - The Heart of America Athletic Conference held its women's basketball media call Wednesday afternoon and Peru State head coach Ian Holleran and guard Maddy Duncan spoke about the upcoming season. 

Holleran--in his second season leading the Bobcats program--is in his fourth year overall at Peru State. The Bobcats finished 12-16 (7-12) in 2021 and return a core of young talent with Duncan and point guard Hailey Ingram as well as two experienced seniors in Jescenia Mosley and Julie Miller.

Duncan and Ingram return as the top two scorers and should produce one of the better backcourts in the conference. 

Holleran said year one as a head coach was "definitely a learning experience" and thinks overall it was a successful season despite the losing record. 

"I thought it was a really good season for us year one," Holleran said. "We did a lot of things culture-wise that we established, you know, that maybe don't show up in the win-loss record year one, but that I really think have paid off big time into preseason this year."

Holleran added that he thinks the Heart conference is the best in all of NAIA basketball with some of the best coaches in the country that have helped him develop and be better prepared in year two. 

Duncan, a sophomore from Hamburg, Iowa., said she wanted to improve all of her shooting percentages, especially her free throw percentage, where she shot a respectable 72.6 percent last year. 

But where she really wants to grow her game is in the form of leadership.

"One thing I want to improve on is being more vocal as a leader," Duncan said. 

Duncan made it clear though that she has a team-first mentality and that all personal accolades are secondary to overall team success. 

"It's not all about me," Duncan said. "We are a team and that's what I like."

Holleran joked that because of added depth this season he can finally get Duncan's minutes down to the "low 30s", but said Duncan is the type of player he is looking to build the program around. 

PSC women's basketball head coach Ian Holleran
PSC women's basketball head coach Ian Holleran Peru State Athletics

In terms of the success the upcoming season would bring, Holleran said internally the players have high hopes for the season but can't get ahead of themselves. 

"We have big expectations for this program," Holleran said. "But, you know, all our focus right now is on game one and starting 1-0."

The coach added it's all about playing consistently for a full 40 minutes. Do that and success will follow. Duncan sounded confident and typically players and teams take on the identity of their coach, which seems to be the case with Holleran and the Bobcats. 

"I feel a lot more confident (as a head coach)," Holleran said. 

Peru State opens the season Friday, Oct. 28 at Central Christian College in Mcpherson, Kan. The Bobcats first three games are all on the road before the first home game on Nov. 7.