Melissa McFerrin has big goals for her team this season. The University of Memphis women's basketball coach wants to make a number of changes, ranging from winning NCAA titles to rebuilding the team.

The Lady Tigers basketball team has a new woman calling the shots.

Melissa McFerrin steps in as head coach of the Lady Tigers, a team desperately in need of a fresh beginning. As the fourth coach in the program's history, she's preparing to rewrite the record books of the struggling women's team.

"I am extremely excited and honored to be a Tiger," McFerrin said. "I know that The University of Memphis is about winning, and that is exactly the type of place that I want to be."

Her lofty goals aren't shortsighted.

"We will become the class of Conference-USA," she said. "We will have the vision, the plan, the ability and the desire to rise to the top of Conference-USA. We will build our program around sound team values and effort. The city of Memphis will be central to our plans."

Teaming with McFerrin is a first-year coaching staff, including Boston College grad Danielle O'Banion, Michigan's Tempie Brown and Emerson's Michael Wholey, two of whom McFerrin's worked with in the past.

And with three returning seniors - Jessica Jackson, Paris Leonard and Ashley Thornton - she won't be working with an empty cabinet.

Jackson was a force in the paint last season, averaging 6.4 points per game and blocking 32 shots on the year, ranking 98th nationally in blocked shots despite sitting out the first seven games of the season.

The 6-foot-3 Jackson had a pair of five-block games against Toledo at the FedExForum and then again against UAB. She also recorded a double-double against Toledo, pouring in 19 points and 12 rebounds in an overtime loss.

The Lady Tigers will likely look for strong low-post play from her as well as her dominating defense seen a year ago.

Senior Paris Leonard was the only Tiger to play in all 30 games last year ago, ranking second on the team in scoring with an average of 11.4 points per game. Lethal from downtown a year ago, she connected on 40 3-point shots, giving her 101 for her career and putting her in sixth place for all time.

But where Leonard really makes her mark is on the defensive end. The 5-foot-8 guard averaged 4.4 rebounds per game while recording 59 steals, the 11th highest in a single season for a Tiger. She will be the one running McFerrin's high-octane offense this season.

Senior Ashley Thornton was the anchor in the middle for the Lady Tigers last season, leading the team in rebounding for the second straight season at 7.2 boards per game. She averaged 9.2 points per game, scoring in double-digits in six of the Tigers first eight games.

Tying a career-high in scoring last season against Tennessee State with 22, she also put up 18 points and 12 rebounds against Tennessee Tech last season. The 6-foot-0 forward will be sure to hit the glass again this season while contributing on the scoring end.

Also returning this season is junior guard Latoya Bullard. An assist-master last season, she led the team with 127 assists, despite missing the first seven games due to NCAA transfer rules. Bullard came only 20 assists shy of breaking into the top ten all-time list for assists in a season.

A constant threat to score in double-digits each game, Bullard averaged 10 points per game last season, including a career high 27 points in the C-USA tournament against Tulsa. She's a sharpshooter from beyond the arc, connecting on 31 percent of her tries, and will be an important part of the Lady Tiger offense this season.

But these veteran Tigers will have to adapt to McFerrin's up-tempo offense this season.

The new coach said she believes the players will adjust to the system just fine to play a fast brand of basketball.

"The faster we play, the better. We're going to recruit kids that can play fast, we've got a system that we play fast," she said. "We do not, however, play out of control. We'll be a team that runs - make, miss, turnover, steal. We're going to be a team that keeps a lot of pressure on the defense because of the tempo at which we are going to play. We are not run and gun, we will still value the basketball and we will take very good shots, but we will also be a team again where tempo between the circles is going to be incredibly important."

And after last season's disappointing 10-20 finish, the girls will be playing to put the Lady Tigers back on the map.