DULUTH, Ga. — Nell Fortner smiled at the question, as if the thoughts of Auburn’s future were already swirling in her head after Friday’s season-ending loss.

It was a truly exciting thing for the sixth-year coach to ponder after one of her toughest seasons at Auburn.

“I really think there were some real bright spots to finish this season out,” Fortner said after the Tigers’ 65-54, quarterfinal loss to Kentucky. “I think we’ll be a hungrier team, and definitely a more experienced team.”

The Tigers, who finished 15-16 and will miss out on postseason play for the first time since 2005-06, lose just one player from this year’s roster, but it’s a big one.

Six-foot-7 center KeKe Carrier finally lived up to her massive potential this season, finishing second on the team in points per game (12.4) and first in rebounds (7.1). Her dominating presence in the middle, when she wasn’t in foul trouble, created matchup problems for pretty much all of Auburn’s opponents and prompted the Tigers to overhaul the fast-paced offensive philosophy that made them so good in 2008-09.

That worked to Auburn’s advantage when Carrier was on the floor and playing effectively, but it often resulted in extended lulls of inefficiency and lengthy scoring droughts. The Tigers did not win one game in conference play when their opponent scored more than 62 points.

Fortner, after watching Kentucky use the same offensive style Auburn used the year before to wear her team down to the point of exhaustion, made a telling point, saying that type of offense is a “great way to play if you have the players to play that way.”

“It’s a great way to play because it’s hard to defend,” Fortner said. “We experienced that last year. It was hard for people to defend us.”

Auburn should be better equipped to ramp up the tempo in 2010-11.

The Tigers return at least three athletic freshmen who can run the floor. Guard Nicolle Thomas, who averaged 6.1 points in her 23 games, was briefly suspended during the season before her indefinite suspension that kept her off the floor for the final four regular season games and away from the team during the SEC Tournament. Her status with the team remains ambiguous heading into next season.

Fortner was giddy over the promise shown near the end of the season by Pascale West, a versatile, 6-foot-8 center who can run.

West didn’t score any points in conference play, but played solid defense when filling in for Carrier. She notched at least one block in five of her final six games, including a three-block performance against Kentucky to cap the regular season.

“That gives her a good springboard into the spring and next summer to do something pretty special next year,” Fortner said. “I mean, I saw some really good things in the last few weeks.”

The special player in Fortner’s signing class from last year, point guard Morgan Toles, played that way through the majority of the season. Named to the All-SEC freshman team, Toles started all but two games, averaged 4.4 assists and developed a nice mid-range jumper to keep defenses honest when she penetrated to the hoop.

“I learned how to be more consistent, just to play every game like it’s your last,” Toles said. “It’s been a great experience for me.”

Alli Smalley and Jordan Greenleaf will make up yet another small senior class and will be joined by five incoming freshmen. Auburn could add a sixth newcomer to address its size concerns in the post by going the junior-college route.

“The freshmen have gotten a lot of good experience this year. They’ll be coming back bigger and better next year,” Smalley said. “I think with a lot of work in the offseason, we’ll be able to really do some nice things.”

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