Optimism is flowing at a brisk pace within the Miami University women’s basketball program.

The RedHawks are dealing with some injuries, but 15th-year coach Maria Fantanarosa has an experienced, talented crew that has already been picked to win the Mid-American Conference East Division.

“I’m enjoying coaching this team,” said Fantanarosa, a former MU player (Class of 1990). “The best part of it is that we’ve had obstacles already because of injuries that have tested their character, and they have responded.”

Miami went 21-10 and finished second in the MAC East last season, losing to Richmond in the first round of the WNIT.

The RedHawks return eight letterwinners, including senior guard Courtney Osborn, who needs 405 points to become the program’s all-time leading scorer.

“I have admitted to our team that probably one of my biggest faults is that I’ve preached humility too much,” Fantanarosa said. “This is a year when you know you have a special group and you’re coming off a good season, so it’s not enough to just have a good season. They want a great season, and they’re willing to do the work to get there.”

MU has good size and will likely have a lot of it on display Sunday when it hosts Tiffin for a 2 p.m. exhibition game. Among the injured are four guards: Juniors Haley and Hannah Robertson, and sophomores Courtney Larson and Nikki McKee (freshman forward Tamira Ford is the other injured player).

Some will play in the exhibition game and some won’t, but Fantanarosa is hopeful that the roster will be at full strength for the Nov. 9 season opener at Eastern Kentucky.

“That guard group has my quickest and most athletic players,” Fantanarosa said. “Going into our first game, with some of those injured players back, we’re going to look different than we will for the exhibition.”

Miami returns three of its top four scorers: Osborn (17.5), senior forward Kirsten Olowinski (11.3) and Hannah Robertson (9.5). Olowinski, who also averaged 9.9 rebounds per game as a junior, is playing, but isn’t quite 100 percent coming off a knee injury suffered last February.

“There’s a sense of urgency with our two seniors, and I think the rest of the team sees that and respects that,” Fantanarosa said. “The chemistry is already there, but that next step is making it all work. We’re far ahead of the most recent teams I have coached in being very goal-oriented, being very unselfish, talking about our goals.

“I think the team has continued to get better every day, and they’re being productive. That’s leading to higher shooting percentages, smarter passing decisions, more people contributing. The other piece is to become more consistent with the defensive side. We are a taller team, and because of that our rebounding will continue to be a focus, but you have to get the stop on defense to be able to get the rebound.”

The four freshmen could certainly be factors this season, particularly 6-foot guard Hannah McCue from Rocky River, 6-2 forward Jessica Rupright from Ossian, Ind., and guard Maddie McCallie from Durham, N.C. Rupright was Indiana’s Miss Basketball last season.

Maggie Boyer, Rachael Hencke and Lillian Pitts were last year’s seniors. They combined for 21.4 points and 11.6 rebounds per game (Boyer and Pitts were starters).

“We did lose three seniors that contributed a lot, but instead of looking at what we don’t have, it’s what we return,” Fantanarosa said. “We’re Miami. We don’t like to look in our rear-view mirror. We don’t want to see if anybody’s trying to catch up to us. We want to look to where we’re going and not worry about the obstacles.”