Tiona Beatty knew what she was talking about.

When the coaches' poll was released during October's CIAA preseason rouser, the N.C. Central women's team was picked to finish last in the Western Division.

And given the Eagles' performance of the previous season -- they finished either 8-19 or 6-21 depending on your take on the two forfeit wins over Shaw awarded by the CIAA -- it would be hard to fault the coaches for taking Joli Robinson's club lightly.

But Beatty, always honest and articulate but not known for making ridiculous statements, made one guarantee that day: The Eagles wouldn't finish last.

And they didn't.

Usually led by Beatty, who finished with an 18.9 scoring average and was named to the preseason and postseason all-conference teams after a ridiculous snub the season before, the Eagles finished third among the six teams in the West.

And after one scary season, the program is back in good shape, very good shape.

Don't forget that before Robinson became the Eagles' coach, NCCU women's basketball was a well-established laughingstock around the CIAA.

Over its first 21 seasons, the program was 167-313 -- winning 34.7 percent of its games -- with the only bright spots being two respectable winning seasons and one miraculous CIAA Tournament title in 1984.

But since Robinson arrived on the scene, the story has been vastly different. During her eight seasons, NCCU is 116-109, had its first three 20-win seasons and made appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament during Beatty's freshman and sophomore years.

The 2002-03 season was a real downer. After it was over, Robinson invited only four players -- Beatty, fellow senior guard Adija Beaty and current sophomores center Shante Collins and winger Natasha Bailey -- to return.

She and top assistant Steve Joyner Jr., who joined the program early last season after former recruiting guru A.G. Hall left on short notice to become an assistant at Providence, hit the recruiting trail hard, and the Eagles had 10 new players.

Then not only did the Eagles have to learn how to play together and try to win, but also take on an ambitious schedule that included non-conference contests against powers Shaw and Virginia Union -- teams NCCU was not compelled to play.

The Eagles would have needed something akin to divine intervention to beat either of those NCAA-bound teams and still are a bit behind NCCU alumnus Eric Tucker's solid program at Fayetteville State. But with those exceptions, Robinson's program is on par with anyone else in the CIAA.

Freshman Cassie King, an easy choice for the CIAA's all-rookie team, will be a serious candidate for future conference player-of-the-year and All-America honors after starting all 28 games and averaging 14.6 rebounds, and she may be on the all-tournament team when it is announced Saturday.

The Eagles will have a solid -- both in playing ability and physique -- center tandem next season, since junior transfer Shaunda Gallon got better as the season progressed and Collins also can provide solid minutes.

Freshman forward Brandi Burks had flashes of brilliance and was almost on the same improvement curve as Gallon.

Eagles fans got a glimpse of what next season's backcourt will be like in the home win over St. Paul's a week ago. That's when Robinson rested her seniors for most of the relatively unimportant game, and freshman Latoya Jones responded with 23 points and sophomore transfer Porschia Holmes had a double-double.

So, they'll be OK.

As for Beatty and Beaty -- a backcourt team that twisted the tongues of more than one road public-address announcer -- they got a chance to be part of an incredible team for their first two seasons, then got a life lesson in learning how to help clean up a big mess after the old nucleus departed.

Mission accomplished.

Beatty said she wants to go into police work right away, although it might be worth her time to try to go overseas for a shot at pro basketball, where the money is decent and anecdotal evidence indicates the competition is much softer than in the CIAA.

Beaty wants to be a physician's assistant. And if she goes about that the same way she approached her years in college, she'll be a very good one in a few years.