When the 2004 Detroit Pistons beat Shaq and Kobe, when the Seattle Seahawks beat the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 48, or when the Pistons’ Bad Boys team beat Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, the old cliché “defense win championships” became the mantra for teams everywhere which aspired to be champions like the legends of old.

For Grand Valley State women’s basketball team, an old cliché is giving it new life on the hardwood.

“We’re really focusing on defense this year,” said senior guard Brionna Barnett. “I think our offense has always been pretty good, so defense is what we need to work on. We haven’t been pushed on defense that hard before, so I think that helps a lot.”

Defense has been the emphasis for head coach Mike Williams, who is entering his first year as the Lakers’ frontman after former coach Janel Burgess resigned at the end of last season.

Williams coached at Davenport, where he compiled a 130-11 record, two final four appearances and a national championship berth, before coming to GVSU. He was an assistant coach on the Lakers’ 2005-06 national championship team, and his transition back to Allendale has gone well.

“The transition has been pretty easy,” Williams said. “The players, coaches that were here, the administration, everybody’s done a great job of being very accommodating and helpful. So far, so good.”

The players say the transition to a new coach has gone well, and Williams has brought with him not only a high basketball acumen, but a new point of view that has benefited the team.

“It’s been great,” Barnett said. “It took some adjusting at first just because he’s so much different than coach Burgess. He’s never satisfied, and that leaves us with a chip on our shoulder.”

The Lakers are coming off of a 20-8 season last year that ended with a 77-66 loss in the GLIAC semifinal against Michigan Tech. GVSU returns three of its top four scorers from last year in Barnett (15.8 PPG), Kayla Dawson (12.4 PPG) and Piper Tucker (9.5 PPG).

The Lakers are expecting big things from Barnett, who is entering her final year of college eligibility and her second year as a Laker, after transferring from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay following her sophomore year.

Along with her 15.8 points per game, good enough for fifth in the GLIAC last season, Barnett led the Lakers in shot attempts, shots made, assists per game and was second in minutes per game.

Barnett will like lead the Lakers on the stat sheet, but, by her own admission, Barnett says she needs to be more of a leader for GVSU in her final year.

“I need to work on being more of a vocal leader,” she said. “I think I led by example for so long, but now that I am a senior I have to do more of both. I want to lead us to a national championship.”

The Lakers will also need production from their two primary forwards in Dawson and Tucker, who had strong years as sophomores last season.

Tucker was a force in the paint for the Lakers, leading the team in rebounds (5.6 RPG) and blocks, with 23 on the year. Her ability at the free throw line (80 percent last season) puts the defense in a tough position, as she can finish inside as well as convert at the line.

Dawson was the Lakers’ second-leading scorer and second in rebounding with 5.3 rebounds per game last season. Because the Lakers are returning all of their starting five, with the exception of 3-point specialist Kat LaPrairie, Dawson says this team is built to be a contender.

“Obviously, changes have been made with the new coaching staff and the new system for defense, but we didn’t really lose a lot of people from last year,” she said. “We’re a year older and wiser from last year, so I think we’re going to be really good and make an impact.”

While nothing is official yet, Williams says he’s leaning towards a starting rotation of Barnett, guard Taylor Lutz, Dawson, Tucker, and guard/forward Bailey Cairnduff, who returns after suffering a season-ending injury last year.

Besides defense, two points of emphasis since Williams has taken over are chemistry and winning on the road. The Lakers were 13-2 at home last season, but 7-6 on the road.

“They were maybe young last year, but now as you get older, you get some more of that consistency to be able to play on the road,” he said. “We tried to put them in some tough environments this year, just some different venues to get them used to it.”

The team held scrimmages at the Rec Center and at other schools, in an attempt to put the team in different situations and see how it reacts.

“Winning on the road is a process. It’s a process, and I think these kids understand that and want to change that,” Williams said.

While winning on the road is still a work in progress, chemistry has been anything but for a team that had 10 turnovers per game last year, good for lowest in the GLIAC.

“We’re always together, on and off the court,” Barnett said. “Hanging out outside of practice, watching movies, just building better friendships so we trust each other more on the court.”

Williams says the cohesiveness of the team has been something that has stuck out to him since taking over as head coach.

“What I’ve noticed, and this is a testimony to the former coaching staff, is the team chemistry is real good,” he said. “The cohesiveness of this team is good, those are two of the real strengths that stand out.”

The Lakers will open the season at the GLIAC/GLVC challenge in Quincy, Illinois. The Lakers will play Truman State on Saturday, and Quincy on Sunday. GVSU’s home opener is on Nov. 19, when it faces Indiana University-Northwest.

The GLIAC released a preseason poll ranking the North and South Divisions of the conference, and the Lakers were picked second behind Michigan Tech, which ended the Lakers’ season last year in the North. For Barnett, it’s just more motivation.

“I think it’s good that we’re not first, just so that we can focus on getting better,” she said. “We know the goal is to beat everyone in the conference, but also Michigan Tech. We were picked second, but I think we’ll be first. Watch out for us.”