KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Big 10 means more than playing three teams from the Power 4 conference this season for Western Michigan University's women's basketball team.

The Big 10 could be the motto for head coach Kate Achter's first Bronco team…as in there are just 10 health players on the roster when WMU (12-18 overall, 8-10 Mid-American Conference last season) opens the season on Nov. 3 at Appalachian State.

The Broncos play at Michigan State on Nov. 16, at Indiana on Dec. 3 and at Ohio State on Dec. 22.

The roster consists of seniors De'Ahna Richardson, Alli Carlson and Ariana Wilkes. The junior is Nile Muguira Orbe. The sophomores are Alli Harness, D'Myiah Bolds and Kailey Starks and the freshmen are Olivia Flynn, Emma Dibarboure and Irene Truillo. Another junior, Adelina Urtane, will redshirt this season. Carlson, Bolds, Harness and Richardson are the only returning players who saw floor action last season.

"Having our roster puts a lot of pressure on you to have the most efficient practices possible,'' Achter said. ''We can't have a three-hour practice session because we don't have the depth. My teaching has to be better. The silver lining is that it allows us to get more practice film on our players, then pull them aside and watch it. We have to save legs as much as possible, and stay in condition.''

Added Carlson: "Having just 10 is a challenge and we are ready for that. I think it's a great opportunity because everyone will get a chance to play and have an impact on the team. Our focus just needs to be taking care of our bodies off the court and resting on off days.''

Needless to say, many of them will play multiple positions for Achter this season.

The point guards are Carlson and Truillo. Carlson averaged almost 33 minutes a game last season mostly as the off guard and sometimes at the point. She averaged 8.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and was second on the team in assists, averaging 2.3 per game. The senior also had a .405 shooting percentage from 3-point range.

"Alli's tempo is unbelievable, and the motor she plays with, it's been consistent from the day we took the job,'' Achter said. "She's attacked everything we've wanted her to do with the utmost urgency and she is a competitive player by nature and wants to tackle a new challenge.''

Truillo is from Spain. "Irene just understands how to utilize ball screens for us, and coming from Europe, there is a lot of value with that,'' Achter said. "I know she can score, and the best thing is she gets her teammates involved.''

The off guards are Orbe, Starks, Harness and Flynn. They will also play in other positions, too. Harness played in 18 games last season. "Nile is about a year removed from her ACL injury and has been the most consistent at the wing spot for us,'' Achter said. "She can knock down shots and is deceptively shifty.

"Kailey has been great for us. Her gold star is she knows basically everything we are doing because she came from us from Detroit Mercy. Defensively, she sets the tone for us.''

"Alli Harness has the ability to stretch the floor more than anyone else on the team. Olivia has worked really hard to find where she fits. She is a great teammate and has done a great job of recruiting other athletes to join us here.''

The players down low are Richardson, Bolds, Dibarboure and Wilkes. Bolds played in 27 games, starting one and Richardson played in 18 games starting two last season. Bolds led the team in blocks with 20 and Richardson averaged almost 13 minutes per game.

"I've watched De'Ahna since she was a high school sophomore,'' the head coach said. ''She can stretch the perimeter. D'Myiah has really attacked at getting better. She can score inside and outside, and has so much length. Emma has a good feel on the inside and Ariana is a transfer from High Point who is more back-to-the-basket who can get off the floor in a hurry.''

Playing time isn't going to be a problem for Western Michigan's players. "We've been talking about what does championship caliber basketball look like, knowing it's not a sprint,'' Achter said. "To me, it's what do we look like at our best.

"I never want them to feel they can't compete at the highest level. We have a lot of players who can catch and shoot from various places and I have players who can get to the basket and make layups with one pass. The challenge for us is when someone takes away the first option, how fast do we get to options 2, 3 and 4. To me, that is the big picture.

"They are in a really unique situation. I tell them people leave programs because of a lack of playing time. Here, we have 10, so you are going to get playing time, it's just up to you how you tackle it. I'm not going to hold you back.''

The Big 10 are ready.

"I really want to focus on competing as a team and helping them forward,'' Carlson said. "We have a lot of grit and we want to keep the intensity high.''

The Broncos tipoff the season Monday evening at 6:30 p.m. from the Holmes Convocation Center. The game will be available on ESPN+ and you can follow along with live stats at wmubroncos.com.