Nov. 10, 2016 DENVER - The University of Denver women's basketball team has a whole new look coming into the 2016-17 season.
Fifth-year head coach Kerry Cremeans' squad graduated just one senior last season, bringing back a wealth of experience in four seniors and three juniors. The Crimson and Gold will also add seven newcomers to the team this year.
DU will open its season on Nov. 11th against non-conference regional rival, Air Force. The match on the 11th will be the first game played on the brand new court at Magness Arena, featuring a beautiful outline of the mountains and the city skyline.
There is much to be excited about going into this season as the team is deep, healthy and improved coming out of the off-season. The Pioneers lost only one starter while returning four from last season.
One of the returners include senior guard
Jacqlyn Poss who was a strong staple in last year's injury plagued lineup. Poss averaged 9.3 points per game last season while dishing out 1.9 assists and sniping 1.4 steals per game. The Shoreview, Minn. native put up a career-high 20 points against Wyoming on Dec. 9.
Also returning to the lineup is veteran senior forward
Jesse Spittel. Spittel began the season in dominant fashion, averaging 8.3 points and 5.4 boards per game, and was even named to the Junkanoo Jam Freeport Division All-Star team before going down with an injury.
Juniors
Ciera Morgan and
Jordyn Alt also return for the Pios. Each had a significant impact on last season's team, with Morgan starting all 30 games and Alt starting 23. Morgan averaged 5.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 39 percent from the field. Alt was second in the Summit League and led the team in rebounds, grabbing 8.2 per game, while averaging 5.1 points per game. She also led the team with three double-doubles and recorded 10 games of double-digit rebounds including a career-high 17 in the match against Fort Wayne on Jan. 9th.
Redshirt freshman
Haley Simental and sophomore guard Sam Romanowski are set to have breakout seasons for the Crimson and Gold after both suffered significant injuries last season. Simental started in the first three games of the 2015-16 season before going down with an injury and averaged 8.3 points per contest while dishing out 1.3 assists. She went for a team-best 45.5 percent from the 3-point line and finished the season shooting 39.1 percent from the field. Romanowski appeared in 21 games, starting 15 of those and averaged 10.1 points - second most on the team - and swiped 23 steals on the year. She put up a season-high 22 points in a contest against Pepperdine on Dec. 5th.
New faces on this year's squad include transfer students in junior
Sydney Koel and redshirt sophomore
Jahla Osborne. Koel comes to DU after spending the past two seasons at Northeast Community College where she averaged 11.4 points and 5.4 boards per game. Osborne, who was at DU last year but was forced to sit out for a redshirt season, spent her freshman year at Army where she put up a season-best seven points and three rebounds in a match against Air Force.
Additionally, Coach Cremeans brings in five freshmen to this year's team from all over the U.S and adds another from overseas.
Guards
Lauren Loven (Scottsdale, Ariz.),
Briana Johnson (Carson, Calif.), and
Abi Curtin (Sydney, Australia), bring strong ball-handling and stellar shooting skills to the Pioneer backcourt. Forward
Madison Nelson (Dover, Minn.), and center Leya DePreist (Palmer, Alaska), bring size and strength to the front court.
After opening with Air Force, the Crimson and Gold travel to Northern Colorado and then to Wyoming. The team will compete at the Grand Canyon Tournament over Thanksgiving weekend before wrapping up the final seven non-conference games with Northeastern at home on Dec. 20th.
The Pioneers will open conference play after Christmas at South Dakota on Dec. 28th before playing host to North Dakota State on Dec. 31st.
