SIOUX FALLS – Coming off their second consecutive conference tournament championship game appearance and nearly 50 wins over the past two seasons, University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball will feature plenty of new looks in the 2017-18, which was evident as they opened practice on Sunday.
 
The 10 freshman and 16 total underclassmen have 10th-year USF Head Coach Travis Traphagen taking a different approach to the first few days of practice after having veteran squads the past few seasons, which both resulted in 20-plus win campaigns.   
 
"It's been fun. It's been different," Traphagen said before heading to Monday afternoon's practice. "Looking at film from the past few years, we are a very different team. We have some length and athleticism, and this year, I think more than in past years I can be a little more hands off and let them play."
 
USF's defense was the driving factor for the 22-8 record they compiled last season, holding their opponents to conference-best 56.9 points and the Cougars owned the league's top defensive rating by a healthy margin. Offensively, Traphagen hopes to return his team to the up-tempo style that his NSIC Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament qualifying squad from 2015-16 played with, and that offensive load will likely fall on the promising batch of returning players.
 
For the returners, 6-foot forward Moira Duffy is the lone senior and she enters her final year after playing in all 30 games last season and averaging 4.0 points per game. The leading returning scorer is sophomore guard Kaely Hummel, who started all but one game as a freshman and scored 8.0 points per game, which was paced by a team-high 54 three-point field goals. Junior forward Jacey Huinker was a starter for all 30 contests last year, finishing second on the team with 6.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per contest.
 
Looking to expand their roles this year, sophomores Andi Mataloni and Mariah Szymanski were big for the Cougars as freshmen. Mataloni made 46 threes in just 11.7 minutes per game and Szymanski stuffed the stat sheet with 28 rebounds, 14 assists, and 7 steals while hitting 22 threes in her freshman campaign.
 
USF's 2017 recruiting class included four guards, five forwards and a center. Jasmine Harris, McKenzie Mennenga, Codee Myers and Lauren Sanders make up the Cougars' freshmen backcourt. Kiara Bradley, Amanda Dagostino, Kennedy Dighton, Abby Slater and Mari Smitsdorff provide versatility as forwards and Ashley Hodell looks to continue USF's strong run of centers.
 
The 10-player freshman class that features eight student-athletes 5-feet-10 or taller certainly confirms Traphagen's claim of his team's length and athleticism. The youth of the team has also forced him to adapt each day's practice plans and adjust the progress of the young team.
 
"We have so many young kids and are shifting how we play a little bit, so it's been a lot of installation the first few days," Traphagen said. "Two years ago, we had six seniors who'd been in the system so long I could focus on the finer things. Last year, we had Madi (Robson) and Sam (Knecht), who were so great together in the pick and roll, and two more seniors who were great in their roles. Right now we are just putting in plays and making sure we can have different players play from different spots on the floor because we have so many great athletes that give us multiple looks."
 
The influx of youth into the program will have to replace USF's first Division II All-American in Knecht, and starting point guard Robson, who guided the Cougars to 49 wins over the past two seasons. Combined, Knecht and Robson had a usage rate of nearly 50 percent last season, but Traphagen remains faithful in the steps taken by his program since last season ended in the NSIC Tournament championship game.
 
"I have to give credit to [Head Strength and Conditioning Coach] Zach Mathers and our strength and conditioning program," Traphagen said. "All the returners came back to school in great shape and every time I would walk by the gym since the end of last season, I'd see them working on ball handling or getting shots up. These underclassmen returners know they will get their opportunities and it's so great to see it again in practice."
 
Looking to fill the point guard role is sophomore Augusta Thramer, who has caught her coach's eye early in camp and is someone who he saw benefit from an offseason of hard work. Fellow sophomores Lexi Saugstad and Taylor Volesky made the most of their time in the summer open gym sessions, and fall individual workouts prepared them to compete for the vacated roles on this year's team.
 
Ultimately, Traphagen is excited for what lies ahead this season, knowing that there could be growing pains with such a young team, but the future is bright.
 
"There is a lot to be excited about," Traphagen said.  "It's fun to see what we've been able to do on the recruiting trail translate to the court and how they are meshing with our returners. There's a lot of teaching early in preseason camp, but I think this team is going to be fun to watch when they go out and play."
 
The Cougars start their 2017-18 season with an exhibition at NCAA Division I member Northern Iowa on Sunday, Nov. 5. USF will open the regular season at home on Tuesday, Nov. 14 against Presentation College at 6 p.m.