The women’s basketball season is quickly coming around the corner as the leaves are changing color to maroon. To recap, last year was an extremely successful season, with the Maroons reaching the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2012 and for only the sixth time in the entire history of the program. Sadly, UChicago was knocked out in the second round by St. Thomas, who was undefeated at the time before losing in the final four. The team was led in scoring by recently graduated forward Britta Nordstrom, whose impact on the game and leadership will be missed in the locker room. Additionally, the loss of starting guard Stephanie Anderson to graduation means that some younger players will need to step up for the upcoming season. Luckily, all remaining players who started a game last year are returning. There is some transition, but it is not a complete transformation from the team that made it to the tournament. 

The Maroon women are looking to build on last year’s successful season and become a team consistently in the tournament.

“The whole team is very excited to start off the new season, and hopefully we are gonna build on the tournament berth from last year,” first-year Ionie Banner said. For it to be another prosperous year, second-years Taylor Lake and Miranda Burt will need to take a bigger jump in scoring to make up for the loss of Nordstrom. Both players had a very promising start to their college careers as the second and third leading scorers on the team. The players will be hoping to see improvements with their first college offseason under their belts. 

Additionally, it will be necessary for the team to continue its home dominance from last year with an impressive 10–1 record with the crowd behind it. A home-court advantage will be pivotal to the Maroons to achieve the season that they are hoping for. UChicago starts off the season with four out of their first five games as home games. It sets up a perfect opportunity for the team to get off to a solid start to instill a high confidence in the team as it heads into the thick part of its schedule. It is vital for the fans to come out for these matches and create the atmosphere for the season to be successful. The season is coming up quickly, and it is time to get behind the Maroons for the upcoming months.