A year ago, Kissy Walker’s Husson Braves were suffering some severe early-season woes when the yearly Paul Bunyan Tournament rolled around.

The Braves ended up dropping nine of their first 10 games before rebounding to earn a berth in the NAIA Division II national tourney.

As this year’s 34th Paul Bunyan tourney looms, Walker has reason to be a bit more upbeat – with good reason.

After all, her Braves are 3-0 and second-team NAIA All-American Kelly Dow isn’t sidelined with an injured thumb like she was in ’98.

But that doesn’t mean she expects to roll to a Bunyan crown.

That’s because their first-round opponent is last year’s Bunyan champ, St. Thomas Aquinas of Sparkill, N.Y. And if the Braves get past the Spartans, they’ll either face Maine Athletic Conference foe UM-Farmington or the University of New Brunswick – the No. 3 team in Canada last year.

St. Thomas Aquinas also played in the NAIA national tourney last season and won its first-round game.

“We’re pretty excited about being home for the first time and having some good competitive teams, as well as [a competitive men’s tourney field],” Walker said.

Four men’s teams will kick off the Bunyan today, with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Fla.) taking on St. Thomas Aquinas at 5:30 p.m. and the University of New Brunswick’s Varsity Reds facing off against Warren Caruso’s 2-1 Husson squad at 7:30 p.m.

The women swing into action on Saturday, with the University of Maine at Farmington taking on the UNB women at 1 p.m. and Husson squaring off against St. Thomas Aquinas at 3 p.m.

The men’s consolation game is set for 5:30 p.m. on Saturday and the two winners battle for the championship at 7:30 p.m.

And on Sunday the women’s consolation and championship games will be contested at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Walker said this year’s undefeated start – which includes the championship of Colby’s tipoff tourney – has been better than she’d hoped for.

“I was surprised that this early in the season we did this well because in the past we’ve gone to the Colby tournament and been awful, to be honest,” Walker said.

Husson men’s coach Caruso, who has guided the Braves to four Bunyan titles in his five years at the helm, said the one predictable thing about the tourney is its unpredictability.

“There’s no gimmee in any game,” he said of this year’s field before pointing out the tourney’s tradition of overtime championship games. “I think there’s gonna be a lot of good basketball played.”

Embry-Riddle garnered the No. 12 slot in the preseason NAIA poll while Husson was ranked No. 22 and St. Thomas Aquinas held the No. 27 slot.

The Braves have been led thus far by seniors Nikos Sompatzis, Dale Landrith and Brad Olson.

“This gives us a chance to measure ourselves against other people [who are nationally ranked], and for a young team it comes at a good time,” said Caruso.