The 2009-10 Oregon State women's basketball team will start crafting its identity on Friday when it opens practice for coach LaVonda Wagner's fifth season in Corvallis.

"The conference has totally changed since I came in, and I'm one of the veterans," since Oregon, USC, UCLA, Washington, Washington State and Arizona have all changed coaches since her arrival, Wagner said Wednesday at the team's media day at the Valley Football Center.

"There's going to be a lot of different playing styles, and we'll be prepared. The main thing for this team is finding out what we bring to the table, finding our niche, coming together and bonding," in workouts leading up to the Nov. 13 opener against Cal Poly at Gill Coliseum.

Change is also the order of business with the Beavers, who last year went 20-12, tied for fourth in the Pacific-10 Conference (9-9) and advanced to the second round of the WNIT in their most successful season since 1996 and their first 20-win season since 1984.

The 14-player squad is evenly split between returning letter winners and newcomers. Three players with starting experience (G Talisa Rhea, F Stacey Nichols, F Kirsten Tilleman) and four experienced reserves will be augmented by six true freshman and a junior-college transfer.

"This is the most excited I've been since my first year (2006) and the reason is we're starting with a bunch of new faces," Wagner said, including the 2008 and 2009 Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year, 5-foot-10 guard Kate Lanz of Central Catholic.

"We have a group that is hungry, willing and accepting the challenge of getting prepared to play in this conference.

"We're coming off our best season in 14 years. We want to remain" (in the Pac-10's upper division) and continue to get better every day."

Veterans Brittney Davis (14.3 ppg), Mercedes Fox-Griffin (8.0 ppg) and Tiffany Ducker (6.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg), who combined for nine years of starting experience, all graduated.

Part-time starter Alex Mitchell (10.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg) transferred to North Carolina Central.

So the top returning scorer and starter is 5-11 junior guard Talisa Rhea (13.5 ppg), who this year should establish the school record for career 3-point baskets. More than a shooter, Rhea was third on the 2009 team in assists (73) and plans to expand her game even more this winter.

"I've become more well-rounded, not just one-dimensional," she said. "I'll do more off the dribble, midrange, get to the basket, create more for my teammates and become a better overall player, defensively and rebounding."

There were no changes to the coaching staff. The Beavers play home exhibitions against Concordia (Nov. 2) and Lewis & Clark (Nov. 8) before the opener against Cal Poly. They begin Pac-10 play against Washington State on Jan. 1 at Gill Coliseum.

"We have a bunch of new people," Wagner said. "We had a great (2009) season, and I do not know what people are thinking about us. We do not worry about what they think about us. We just worry about what we think.

"Our goal is just to focus on Oregon State and coming together as a team."