A large rookie class helped propel George Fox to the Division III women's basketball national championship this past fall. But the centerpiece of that class won't be around to help the Bruins defend their title.

Sage Indendi, the D3hoops.com Rookie of the Year, did not return to school at George Fox this fall.

&&f-boxr&&Indendi scored a team-high 12.8 points per game last season and led the team with 3.3 assists, while shooting 36 percent from three-point range. She and Kristen Shielee, a first-team D3hoops.com All-American (12.2 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.8 blocked shots) are the only two significant losses from last year's team. But they're big ones, having combined for nearly 40 percent of the team's scoring.

Arianna Mohsenian, who averaged 5.7 points per game and played 21 minutes a game off the bench for the Bruins last season, is expected to step in at Indendi's wing spot. She shot 32 percent from beyond the arc, making 45 three-pointers, just five behind Indendi's team high. Hannah Munger, a 6-4 freshman post player from Newberg (Ore.) High School, is expected to challenge for Shielee's starting center position.

Indendi had the chance to play Division I basketball out of high school in Montana, and spoke with D3sports.com's Gordon Mann about it after the national championship game this past March.