Like many women's and men's college basketball teams, the departure of players can be daunting to replace.
However, Western Michigan University women's basketball coach Shane Clipfell feels he has brought in a lot of talent to fill those voids
WMU (12-17 overall, 7-11 Mid-American Conference in 2022-23) lost four of its top five scorers from last season. Those four accounted for almost 60 percent of the team's scoring and almost 50 percent of WMU's rebounding.
''But, bringing in the freshmen and transfers, we have all bonded with what we want to do,'' senior guard
Hannah Spitzley said. ''Basketball is a team sport and we have a lot of new players to go along with the returners.
Everyone can pitch in and we can be the team where three or four players can score in double digits every game and it makes us more of a threat. The pressure isn't on one or two people to score every game.''
WMU opens the season on Monday, Nov. 6 at DePaul. The Broncos' first home game isn't until Nov. 29 when they host Valparaiso. The non-league schedule also features a tournament in Puerto Rico at the end of November and a road game at Notre Dame on Dec. 21. The MAC opener is Jan. 3 at home against Ball State.
Spitzley is the top scorer returning, averaging 10.0 points and was second last season in rebounding with an average of 5.6 boards. She was also second on the team in steals with 55. Senior returning point guard
Gabi Saxman led the Broncos with 59 steals.
''I like defense better than offense,'' Spitzley said. ''I tell myself that if you play good defense, you've done something for your team and there isn't any pressure to score points.''
''The three are all a little different and we might start two point guards sometimes,'' Clipfell said. ''We want to see not only how they play, but how the other four players on the floor play with them.''
The three of them each averaged around three points per game last season.
''I'm trying not to put pressure on myself to score, but in the position I'm in, I could score more points,'' Saxman said. ''But I'm not going to try and force anything. I'm definitely a pass-first point guard, but scoring is something I can improve upon. However, I'm not going to get away from passing the ball…ever.''
A new person who could provide some points is graduate student guard
Kaitlyn Zarycki, who transferred from Saginaw Valley State University. She averaged 16.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.1 steals in earning the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference player of the year award last season.
Another returning guard who will be counted upon is redshirt sophomore Maggie Stutelberg.
''Maggie can fill it up from the perimeter and did that on our trip to Portugal and Greece in August,'' Clipfell said.
''Jasmine can give us points in the paint and is a big, strong, mobile player with good hands,'' Clipfell said. ''Lauren is a third-year player and ready to take the next step up.''
The head coach is looking at Toledo, Ball State and Kent State as possibly the top three teams in the MAC, ''but everyone except those three teams lost a lot of players collectively.''
That will mean it will be up to WMU to play good defense in the hope it can qualify for the postseason league tournament, according to Saxman.
''We have to really, really focus on defense because that can help our offense as well,'' the senior said. ''This is my last year and I want to make this a great experience for everyone. After having made the tournament two seasons ago, we know what it takes to get there and what it's like once you do get there.''
