As they broke an end of a preseason practice huddle, the Northern Lehigh girls' basketball team shouted "Together" as they departed for the evening.

As they enter the upcoming season, that word may truly weigh wonders in the progress of the Bulldogs over the course of the 2015-16 regular season.A year after only scoring victories in the second game and second last game of the season, Northern Lehigh head coach Tony Thomas wants to see that "togetherness" take this year's pack of Bulldogs (2-20 overall; 1-16 Colonial League last year) straight through what turns out yet another rebuilding year.Instead of striving for the success of the play of one or two individuals, the Bulldogs will look to get the job done on and off the court "together.""Our goals is to come together as a team and use that sense to really build a solid team-oriented feeling," Thomas stressed.It's something this young group needs to do as Thomas and his coaching staff are looking to fill the voids left behind by the departure of Jess Olewine (leading scorer with 8.91-points-per-game), Emily Bevans (leading free throw percentage shooter) and Amber Thomas (a threat on the defensive side of the ball) to graduation.Besides the thought of that trio of now Bulldog alumni gone, something else is certainly missing among the presence of this year's squad because of it."We have no seniors," Thomas said. "So, when there are no seniors, you know you're going to have questions on where's your leadership going to be driven from and so we're looking to have some younger kids take on some bigger roles."That's where returning players in juniors Karlyna Kemery and Jennifer Knerr, along with sophomores Kaitlyn Hoffman, Dani Hoffman and Jill Olewine, will be the ones looked heavily upon to step up and take on that leadership role possibly for the Bulldogs once they step foot on the competitive hardwood this season.The majority of those names saw action in more than half of last year's 22 games. So they may be the ones looked at to utilize that experience this season to get the Bulldogs off on the right track.Thomas is also looking to the likes of junior Ashley Wilk, who is returning to the hardwood after missing out on last season with an ACL injury, and sophomores Katie Zeigler, Annie Lutz as well as freshman Katie Guelcher to lend a helping hand.With the likes of three of last year's starting five returning - Olewine, Hoffman and Kemery - back by his side, Thomas doesn't have to resort to the obvious to initiate the first steps in what is definitely a rebuilding season."It's huge having those individuals back because we don't have to start back at ground zero even though we are rebuilding because we did lose a lot of points, rebounding and those things," Thomas said. "It's big because we're not starting all over having to reteach those kids. And, it makes it easier teaching the other players our game plan."While the Bulldogs will take those necessary steps of building the program back up to where they want to be, Thomas has set forth another potential goal to spark a bit of motivation in getting the Bulldogs ready for the up-and-coming competition."We want to be more competitive," Thomas said. "And, getting there is simply by rebounding aggressively, attacking the rim when we have opportunities, building our confidence in our shooting and be ready to shoot when we catch the ball are all key areas."