CINCINNATI — When first-year Xavier University women's basketball coach Melanie Moore left the Cintas Center each night early in her tenure, she was greeted by a sound.

A basketball bouncing in the gym.

Thump thump. Thump thump.

She'd peek in to see sophomore guard and Mars graduate Lauren Wasylson working on her game.

“That's always a good sign,” Moore said.

Wasylson made an immediate impression on the coach, who spent seven seasons at the University of Michigan as an assistant before she was hired to take over a slumping Xavier program last April.

“Just a worker,” Moore said of her initial take on Wasylson. “A grinder who is always in the gym. A gym rat.”

The perfect kind of player for what Moore is trying to do at Xavier.

Moore is trying to get the Musketeers back to national prominence. Xavier has a storied history with 10 NCAA tournament bids, two Elite Eight appearances and 10 conference titles.

Things, though, have not gone the team's way lately — especially in the rugged Big East.

Xavier went 3-27 overall and 2-16 in the conference this season, but Moore thinks players like Wasylson can change that.

And quickly.

“I knew she was a state champ and will do what it takes to win,” Moore said.

“This is a gold mine here at Xavier,” Moore added. “They've won before ... and Lauren is one of the kids who will bring winning back, who will lay the first bricks.”

Wasylson said she was nervous when Brian Neal stepped down after the 2018-19 season. Neal recruited Wasylson and the 6-foot guard wondered where she would stand with the new regime.

“There was definitely some apprehension,” Wasylson said.

It didn't take long, though, for Wasylson to realize the change was good and Moore was going to challenge her to get better.

During a practice early in the season, Moore called Wasylson out for not going after a rebound.

Wasylson responded in the way Moore intended.

“She was a different player after that,” Moore said. “We talked about not being one dimensional and how she could bring so much more to the team with her height at guard.”

Wasylson heeded that advice and averaged five rebounds per game over the season's final two months.

Moore also had the confidence to assign Wasylson to guard the opponents' top offensive player.

“On the defensive end, the game has really slowed down for me,” Wasylson said. “My freshman year, I didn't have quick enough feet and the guards in the Big East are fast. They are so fast.

“It definitely felt good that the coach had that kind of confidence in me.”

Offensively, Wasylson was still a dangerous perimeter shooter. She hit 44 3-pointers and averaged 6.8 points per game for the Musketeers.

Wasylson, though, isn't satisfied with her offensive production. She hopes to make just as big a jump on offense between her sophomore and junior seasons as she did on defense between her freshman and sophomore campaigns.

That means only one thing: more time in the gym.

“I'm going to be working all summer like I did last summer,” Wasylson said.

Wasylson hopes to be more of a threat going to the hoop. She also hopes to get stronger in the paint.

She's going to have to hit pause before she gets back to work, however.

Wasylson struggled for most of the season with injuries to her feet.

The Xavier training staff told her to take a couple of weeks off after the season.

But Moore is sure to hear that basketball bouncing in the Cintas Center again soon.

“I'll probably be in the gym tonight,” Wasylson said, chuckling.