By Samantha Bell, Opinion Intern

Photo Courtesy of Andris Visockis

We have made it thru the first quad of the school year, and with the second quad now upon us, so is basketball season. The Lady Saints kick off their season on October 26, facing off against Rochester College.

The Saints are heading into this season with a relatively young team. With no seniors, the team is primarily juniors and sophomores, with the exceptions of freshmen Brooke Wila and Carley Andrews. Along with these two first year students, the team added a few transfer students in sophomores Noel Hernandez and Ashley Bunker and junior Deiona Rogers.

“Deiona and Noel came from GRCC and Ash is from Hillsdale and they all have some experience under their belts and are great to play with,” junior Mary Vojtko said. “Our two freshmen, Carley and Brooke, are both great on the court and have so much potential for their collegiate careers.”

Returning for the Saints are juniors Katie Theut, Anna Omness, McKenzie Breimayer and Mary Vojtko and sophomores Bri Spica, Tyra Williams, Daneigh Wilde, Janay Traylor, Hannah Brefeld and Melissa Jakupovic.

To fill out the 2016-2017 women’s team, Linda Nash is returning for her 21^st season as head coach, with assistant coaches Lindsey Karpowicz and Brian Morris coming in for their second and first seasons, respectively.

Last season, the Saints ended their season with an 8-21 overall record, with a 7-15 conference record. This season, the team is ready to work hard to accomplish all of the goals they have set for themselves.

“As a team, we want to make it into the conference tourney,” Vojtko said. “We want to go above 500, as well as be a top defensive team and improve every game so we are at our best.”

You can catch the ladies’ first game at Rochester College on October 26, or their first home game on October 29 at 1 p.m. in Sturrus. Make sure to check out the Lady Saints in action this year.