After coming within one win of the national championship game last year, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team is ready for the 2015–16 season.

With the loss of three graduating seniors from last year, the Huskies don’t appear to be missing a beat. Guards Riley Humbert and Kabree Howard and forward Jordyn Halvorson have all exhausted their Canadian Interuniversity Sport eligibility, but head coach Lisa Thomaidis has found capable replacements to fill the shoes left by these three departed players.

Rookie guard Sabine Dukate is looking to make an impact immediately in the lineup for the Dogs. Dukate — who has joined the Huskies from Latvia — will start in the point guard position and hopefully contribute as much as the squad needs her to.

Returning a large chunk of their dominant roster from last season, the Huskies opened the season ranked number two in the CIS and following a perfect 4–0 start to the year, they have climbed to number one in the national rankings.

Thomaidis knows it will be a long season, but has her expectations for the year already set — on winning.

“We expect a lot of ourselves this season. We’ll have a very balanced attack. We have a lot of offensive weapons and, for us, it’s about getting on the same page as quickly as we possibly can. We have a new point guard coming in, her first year with us, so there’s a lot of adjustment for her and for us getting used to her,” Thomaidis said. “We’ll see how it goes, but it’s certainly looking good so far.”

Fifth-years Laura Dally and Dalyce Emmerson will be heavily relied on for most of the Dogs’ scoring. Dally led the team with 13.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game last year, and was the most impressive Huskie player at the CIS Final 8. Not far behind her was Emmerson, with 13.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per contest. The two seniors will be the one-two punch for the powerhouse Huskies this year.

With a solid supporting cast, this roster has plenty of firepower and will have plenty of options if Dally or Emmerson are having an off night. Desarae Hogberg, Kelsey Trulsrud and Megan Lindquist all have solid experience and add a nice blend of offensive and defensive talent.

Trulsrud added 9.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game last year off the bench and is poised for a much bigger role this season. She is known for her rebounding prowess and between her and Emmerson on the inside, it will certainly give the Huskies the advantage on the glass almost every game.

Hogberg was the third highest scorer on the team last year, and she will see more minutes on court due to the losses of Humbert and Howard. She also adds the three-point element, shooting a very solid 34.4 per cent from beyond the arc last season.

With a solid roster from top to bottom, returning to the CIS Final 8 is a definite possibility for the squad. Returning two of their top players and adding a couple of highly touted recruits has the Dogs in good shape for the upcoming season. Having Thomaidis as the head coach can never hurt either, and the Dogs will look to avenge their semifinal loss this year.