When Mike Teasley took over the Notre Dame women's basketball team in 2003 it's safe to say building a national powerhouse was far from the top of the list on most people's minds.

That year's Lady Dragons varsity squad was made up of only six players, leaving the opportunity to substitute only one player at a time during any given break in play. There was no junior-varsity team.

"At that time," says Coach Teasley, "there just wasn't the level of interest in women's basketball we see today."

How times have changed.

This year's Lady Dragons finished 28-2; inclement weather cost the team another 4-5 potential match-ups. The varsity squad fielded 13 players. The budding junior varsity team another 10.

"The success of the WNBA and the growing prominence of women's basketball at the collegiate level has really fostered a trickle down effect to girls in grade school and high school," according to Teasley. "Girls are simply more interested and eager to take up the game and really push themselves to succeed."

Teasley's opinion may be slightly biased, but understandably; his sister, Nikki Teasley, plays point guard for the WNBA's Washington Mystics.

But, whether his opinion is biased or not, Teasley's success and that of his Lady Dragons is impossible to refute.

This year's team started the season ranked #1 in the country by most major scouting services. After heartbreaking losses to eventual #1 Long Beach Poly in California and Archbishop Carroll in Pennsylvania, the team ended up ranked #3 nationally by Sports Illustrated, Full Court Press, Rivals.com and Max Preps. They were The Washington Post's #1 team locally at season's end, as well, a fact Teasley is fond to point out and believes is just as important as it's national ranking.

"Being a top-ranked program, giving the girls the opportunities that come with playing on a top-ranked program, start at home. For us, that means the D.C.-metro area. We can't ever lose sight of that and our successes here are something we're all very proud of."

Athletic Director Carla Adgate, a three-sport athlete herself back in high school, is quick to support her coach.

"What Coach Teasley has done, not only for our ladies' basketball team, but for Notre Dame as a whole by bringing the school to national prominence, really is a testament to his dedication, his drive, and his belief in the young women that play for us here. He has built not only a first rate program, but he challenges the players to make the most of themselves in a much wider sense. 12 of the team's 13 players made the honor roll during the season and Coach Teasley is absolutely committed to their success beyond their time here at Notre Dame."

That commitment shines through most clearly in the team's 7 seniors, all of whom have been recruited by college programs and all of whom have been offered substantial scholarships by those schools.

Center Azania Stewart has committed to the University of Florida, guard Morgan Wrightson to Bucknell, forward Mia Nickson to Boston College, and guard Kristin Coles to American University; guard-forward Josette Campbell is choosing between Louisville, Seton Hall and Illinois, and center Chelsea McNamee between Belmont Abbey, Western Liberty and West Virginia Wesleyan; and guard Kristen Brown, recruited by Belmont Abbey and West Virginia Wesleyan, has been accepted and plans to enroll at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

"The scholarships these young women have been offered amount to nearly $170,000 per year," notes Teasley, practically bursting with pride. "That represents a significant impact for just about anybody."

Seeing more than half his team graduate must be bittersweet for Coach Teasley, but it's doubtful too many opposing coaches will be sending their condolences anytime soon. Two juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen from this year's squad will be back, and, as word of the program's success spreads, increased attention from prospective players and their families rises as well.

"We're building something here, something with what I hope will be real permanence," Teasley notes. "By building the program on the existing rock-solid, first-rate foundation of academic achievement that Notre Dame enjoys, colleges have started to really look our way for not only superb and gifted athletes, but accomplished, well-educated and engaging students as well."

The school's recent Showcase, an invitational for some of the mid-Atlantic region's top programs, saw coaches from more than 50 top-ranked college programs descending upon Middleburg and Notre Dame Academy.

Pretty heady stuff for a program with only one sub a few years ago.

"My respect for Coach Teasley and what he's done has grown daily," says Adgate. "The credit he gets is well-deserved, and his success comes from an incredible commitment to the school, the student-athletes and the community as a whole. Division I college coaches drop by when they're in the area just to watch practice."

Make no mistake, Teasley demands a lot from his players, both on and off the court.

"The days of the stereotypical 'dumb jock' are gone, if they were ever really here. Playing at the next level is not for everyone, but we intend to give our girls that opportunity if they want it and if they're willing to make the commitment."

To do that, Teasley has worked to create an environment that nearly mirrors the experience of the collegiate student-athlete many of them will graduate to. That means a rigorous academic schedule every day from 8:30 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon, followed by nearly two hours of required study-hall before they spend about an hour on strength and agility training and, finally, practice from 6 in the evening to 7:30.

"It focuses their attention on time-management and makes them realize that to accomplish the goals they set out for themselves, maybe other than pure ability, nothing is more important than putting in the time, the effort and the hard work. Period."

Hoop dreams are becoming reality among the horsey set, and players from across the country and around the world are vying for the chance to come to Notre Dame because of it.