CARBONDALE - When she won the job as Southern Illinois University's women's head basketball coach, Missy Tiber knew she had to hit the ground running.

Nearly 60 days later, she's run quite far in turning around a program that had clearly seen better days.

"You come to work every day and then you don't realize it's time to go home because it gets so late," Tiber said. "You put long hours in, but it's kinda nice being busy and keeping our minds focused on what needs to be done."

A little over three months ago, SIU women's basketball was a Rubik's Cube. Not all sides were the same color following the Salukis' first-round loss to eventual Missouri Valley Conference champion Evansville and there were more rumors of discontent and unhappiness from the players.

But the arrival of Tiber and assistant coach Adrianne Harlow has brought an air of freshness into the program and dispelled any haunting hint of former coach Dana Eikenberg.

"The people here have been just awesome," Tiber said. "I couldn't be more excited to be here and we're looking forward to moving this program in a new direction this year."

Tiber turned her attention to the recruiting side first, confirming point guard Katerina Garcia and 6-foot forward Nneka Nwani's desires to become Salukis. She has added Renee Reed, Teri Oliver and Eboni Crayton during the recruiting trail and said she is planning on seven returnees and seven newcomers filling out the 2009-10 roster.

"At this point, I think it's a nice mix of returning kids and newcomers," Tiber said.

Tiber confirmed Tuesday that Eryn Stepherson, Lacie Ward and Karlee Myers will not be back next season. Stepherson did not qualify academically, Myers elected to move on, and Ward's scholarship was not renewed.

But Tiber also brought in someone SIU fans are very familiar with former Saluki softball third baseman Katie Wagner.

"Her personality is so great and she's such a hard worker in everything that she does," Tiber said. "She scored nearly 1,500 points in high school. It's going to take some time to get the skill level back, but a kid that steps in your office and says 'Coach, I want to play for you, I know I can help you, I can bring a leadership role and I know I can make this team better.'

"How can you tell that kid 'No'?"

Wagner will join the program as a fifth-year senior. The 5-8 Mount Vernon native will don No. 12, Ward's former number, for the Salukis after wearing No. 16 for softball.

"No. 12 was my first number when I started playing in third grade," Wagner said.

Because of NCAA rules, coaches aren't allowed to work with athletes during the summer. Wagner and some of her future teammates have been scrimmaging at Davies Gym as part of her preparation for the winter season.

"As long as my body is going to keep up with me, I'm going to push it to the limit," Wagner said. "I'm going to come in and help any way that I can."

pete.spitler@thesouthern.com / 618-351-5073